Ukraine cites “huge progress” as Russia reports only partial understanding in Abu Dhabi

Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States offered differing assessments on Tuesday of how productive two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi had been. The three delegations agreed, however, that a prisoner exchange is planned.

Russia’s chief negotiator and presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said a mutual understanding had been reached on some issues but not on others. He also accused Europe of being “complicit in a collective deception” of the Ukrainian people.

Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, claimed there had been “huge progress” on the topics of security and prosperity. US special envoy Jared Kushner took a position between the two, calling the talks “tough but productive” while admitting that territorial issues remain the biggest hurdle.

Prisoner exchange expected

Medinsky said earlier that the two sides had agreed on a prisoner swap during the talks. The Russian news agency TASS reported that the planned large-scale exchange could be the largest to date. Citing Russian General Alexander Zorin, TASS said it could take place within two to three weeks and involve more than 1,000 people from each side. Hundreds of prisoners have already been exchanged in several swaps during the war.

Speaking at a news conference in Abu Dhabi, Kushner said post-war security for Ukraine and ways to monitor a ceasefire were among the topics on the agenda. “Territorial issues will be the hardest,” he said. He added that the latest round was a “positive step” towards peace despite a lack of “trust” between the two sides.

Kushner said he and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff had not been sure they would reach the trilateral format. “It’s been a long way to get everyone back to the table,” he said. He said the goal was to turn future talks into a “multilateral format” involving European negotiators. He added that the US and Ukrainian teams had held good discussions with delegates from the EU and NATO during the talks.

Umerov, who spoke at the same news conference, thanked the US envoys and said good work had been done in the various meetings held so far this year. He said there was “good momentum” to reach a solution before the end of this year. Security and prosperity will be discussed further, he said.

It was the first time the US and Ukrainian delegations had held a joint news conference after trilateral talks. All sides had previously spoken separately.

Kushner said he and Witkoff would travel to Moscow the next day to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. They plan to “go over what was discussed today and try to make more progress on some of the issues”, he said, adding that Washington sees “some openings and some opportunities there”. The two envoys will then fly to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and “further explore some of the ideas that we came up with here today”, he said.

Asked by a reporter whether a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy was planned, Kushner said Russia wants to see “more progress made before that happens”. He added: “Clearly there’s not great trust or love between the leaders.”