U.S.-Russia-Ukraine peace talks conclude after a nine-month hiatus; agreement reached on ‘largest-ever’ prisoner exchange

[Financial News] Three-way peace talks among Russia, the United States and Ukraine, which resumed after a nine-month hiatus in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with U.S. mediation, wrapped up their two-day schedule on the 11th (local time). The two sides agreed to the largest prisoner-of-war exchange ever, keeping the door open for further talks, but remained far apart on key issues including the return of territory and security guarantees.
According to major foreign media outlets, including the Associated Press, the Russian, U.S. and Ukrainian delegations held closed-door talks in Abu Dhabi over two days starting on the 10th. The first day’s session lasted four hours, and the second day’s lasted about an hour and a half.
The most tangible progress came on humanitarian issues. Russian delegation chief and presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said at a news conference immediately after the talks, “Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the previous day that “we discussed a plan to exchange 1,000 to 1,500 people each,” raising expectations that the largest exchange ever will take place within two to three weeks.
However, the talks failed to produce a fundamental breakthrough toward ending the war. On territorial issues, Ukraine held firm to “freezing the current front lines and a ceasefire,” while Russia insisted on the “full return of the Donbas region,” leaving the two sides deadlocked.
Russia notably put “building a new European security system” at the top of its agenda, while keeping European countries entirely out of the talks. Aide Medinsky said, “The war in Ukraine has exposed the collapse of the existing European security system,” but also sharply told Europe, “If your conscience awakens, you may be able to take part in peace talks.”
U.S. lead negotiator and presidential envoy Jared Kushner said, “Given that we were meeting for the first time in eight months, it was not entirely smooth, but substantive and in-depth discussions took place, including on territorial issues.” Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff plan to travel to Moscow on the 12th to meet President Vladimir Putin, then head straight to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, using “shuttle diplomacy” to maintain momentum for follow-up talks.


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