Trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States (US) and Ukraine concluded in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, with Moscow and Kyiv reaching an agreement on a “large-scale” prisoner exchange as negotiations to end the nearly five-year conflict are set to continue, news agency IANS reported.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation at the talks on the Ukraine crisis, said at a press conference that details of the prisoner exchange would be announced soon. He also confirmed that negotiations between the parties would continue.
According to Xinhua news agency, Medinsky said the delegations had discussed humanitarian issues, while the future of European security remained a central focus of the US-mediated discussions. He added that the parties had reached understandings on certain issues but did not disclose further details.
Defending the discussions on post-war security arrangements at this stage of negotiations, Medinsky said the conflict in Ukraine had exposed shortcomings in Europe’s security system.
He called for the establishment of a fair security framework that takes into account the interests of all countries.
Meanwhile, Jared Kushner, a member of the US negotiating team, described the prisoner exchange agreement as one of the positive outcomes of the discussions. He told reporters that the exact number of prisoners to be exchanged would be finalised on Thursday.
Kushner, Witkoff to visit Moscow for fresh talks on ending Ukraine war
Kushner also said he and US special envoy Steve Witkoff planned to travel to Moscow for further discussions aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict.
He said the two would seek progress in Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to US demands to end the war. They would subsequently meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kushner added that Russia had its own security concerns and had been asked to put forward proposals to reduce tensions.
He also said NATO and European countries would be part of the negotiating process, adding that European representatives had been brought into the discussions in Abu Dhabi.
The latest round of trilateral negotiations lasted two days and marked the first meeting involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine since February.
The agreement on a prisoner exchange marks a humanitarian outcome of the latest round of discussions, even as the three countries prepare for further negotiations on ending the conflict.
(With IANS inputs)
Russia-Ukraine war: Abu Dhabi talks end with major prisoner exchange agreement
