The second day of talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States in Abu Dhabi ended after around two hours of discussions. The parties confirmed an agreement in principle on a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, but announced no breakthrough on ending the war or on the most contentious issues of a future agreement.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner described the exchange as one of the positive results of the meeting. “One of the positive things is that we agreed on the largest humanitarian release of prisoners, with the number to be determined tomorrow,” he said after the talks.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov also confirmed that an agreement had been reached on a new exchange, but specified that the exact number would be announced later. An exchange of 1,000 for 1,000 or more prisoners was discussed as a possible option, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also mentioned the possibility of 1,500 for 1,500. This is not yet a final confirmed figure for the exchange.
No agreement on ending the war
The first day of talks on November 10 lasted around four hours, while the second round on November 11 concluded after approximately two hours. Russia and Ukraine reported no agreement on a ceasefire, territorial issues or final security guarantees.
The topics included security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe, Russia’s demands for guarantees of its own, Ukraine’s reconstruction and the idea of a new European security architecture. Kushner said there was still no trust between the parties, and that Russia’s de-escalation proposals needed to be changed in order to be acceptable to European countries.
Moscow insists that European countries should not be directly included in the main negotiating format. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian delegation had not spoken with European representatives in Abu Dhabi and that such contacts had not been planned. Ukraine and European countries, for their part, insist that Europe should participate in decisions concerning the continent’s security.
Next meetings to be held in Moscow and Dublin
After the trilateral format ended, the Ukrainian delegation held separate talks with representatives of European countries, the European Union and NATO. Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service said that a joint statement on the meeting was being prepared.
On November 12, Kushner and Steve Witkoff will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the results of the talks and opportunities for progress. The two American representatives will then travel to Dublin for a meeting with Zelensky. According to Kushner, a personal meeting between Putin and Zelensky is not expected immediately, as Russia wants greater progress to be achieved first.
Zelensky said that Europe should have a place at the table when decisions are made about future security. “When the future of our part of the world is being decided, Europe must have a place at the negotiating table,” the Ukrainian president told the Danish parliament.
Sources: apnews.com, sa.marketscreener.com, en.interfax.com.ua