Two days of negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi, mediated by the United States, ended with an agreement on a prisoner exchange. The talks did not produce a breakthrough toward ending the war, which is approaching its fifth year.
Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said on Wednesday that both sides had agreed on a large-scale prisoner swap and had reached a shared understanding on some issues.
Prisoner swap agreed, numbers still to be confirmed
Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported that the exchange could take place within two to three weeks. If it goes ahead, it would be the latest in a long series of such swaps.
Also read: Zelenskyy Hopes Abu Dhabi Talks Pave Way for Leaders Meeting
US envoy Jared Kushner told a news conference that the number of prisoners involved would be settled on Thursday. He said he would travel to Moscow with US special envoy Steve Witkoff to brief Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing “some openings and some opportunities” on the issues discussed.
Kushner and Witkoff are also due to fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and explore the ideas raised in Abu Dhabi.
Earlier swaps set the benchmark for a larger deal
Political analyst Dmitry Medvedenko said prisoner exchanges have long happened without this level of diplomatic work. He said that every two or three months, between 100 and 300 prisoners are typically exchanged by both sides, describing it as a channel that works.
Ukraine and Russia each freed 200 prisoners of war in March, following talks in Geneva, Switzerland, held in February. Last year, each side exchanged 146 prisoners after mediation by the United Arab Emirates, and larger swaps followed three rounds of talks in Istanbul, Turkiye, between May and July.
Medvedenko said that for the next exchange to be the biggest yet, it would have to exceed the 1,000-for-1,000 swap carried out in May last year.
Sharp differences remain on terms and European role
The two sides arrived in Abu Dhabi far apart on the terms of a possible settlement. Kushner said it was “a long way to get everyone back to the table” and called the meeting “a very tough meeting but a productive one”. He said territorial questions would be the hardest to resolve, but that progress had been made on a security framework for the post-war period.
Medinsky said more talks would be held soon and that Moscow did not object to European Union participation. He questioned, however, what Russia and the EU would have to discuss, arguing that Europe had offered few proposals.
Ukraine’s peace negotiator, David Arakhamia, said the Abu Dhabi talks had created “good momentum” toward a solution before the end of the year. He said the next round should be multilateral rather than trilateral and that Europe should be represented. Zelenskyy, who is not attending the talks, said on Wednesday he did not think European security could be discussed “without Europe”.
