OMM Newsroom
Two days of US-mediated talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi ended with an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange. This was the only concrete agreement reached by the parties; security and territorial issues remain unresolved.
According to AnewZ, Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told Russian state television after the talks that the sides had reached an understanding on some issues and that further rounds of negotiations would be held. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was briefed after the talks, also confirmed an important humanitarian agreement on a new prisoner exchange.
Prisoner exchanges have continued even when other diplomatic channels have stalled during the war. The agreement is therefore not seen as a sign of progress towards a broader peace settlement. Both governments can present the return of prisoners as a success without making concessions on the battlefield or on territory.
The key question now is whether the exchange will pave the way for a broader agreement or remain the only issue on which the parties can find common ground.
US negotiator Jared Kushner described the talks as “very substantive” and “quite difficult.” The parties met for the first time in about eight months.
Kushner said post-war security arrangements, guarantees for Ukraine and mechanisms for monitoring a possible ceasefire were among the main issues discussed. He said the territorial issue would be the most difficult to resolve. This highlights how far apart the parties remain on one of their main disagreements.
Europe’s role in future talks remains disputed
The Abu Dhabi talks also exposed disagreement over who should take part in future discussions. Washington wants European governments to join a broader, multilateral process. Kushner said he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would support the proposal. He is due to meet Putin in Moscow on Thursday alongside Steve Witkoff.
Zelensky has also stressed that Europe should be represented at every stage of a meaningful diplomatic process. Medinsky objected to the proposal, saying it was unclear what Russia should discuss with the European Union and that, in his view, European governments had not made any specific proposals.
The disagreement reflects different approaches to the talks. A narrower format mediated by Washington could give Moscow more scope to negotiate without Europe’s direct involvement. Kyiv, meanwhile, wants European governments at the table because they would provide troops, funding and political support for future security guarantees.
Senior Russian diplomat Aleksey Drobinin outlined three possible models for security guarantees at a conference in Moscow. These include a collective defence treaty or mutual assistance agreements similar to those Russia has concluded with Belarus and North Korea; political agreements like the one with Iran, under which countries would not support one another’s rivals; and bilateral non-aggression pacts.
Drobinin said such agreements could be reached with individual NATO members, which could receive additional guarantees from Russia. This approach could allow Moscow to negotiate separately with alliance members rather than with NATO as a whole.
Parties assess the outcome of talks differently
Despite the humanitarian agreement, Russian and European officials offered differing assessments of the talks. A German government spokesperson said the discussions had produced broad agreement on a framework for future negotiations. According to the spokesperson, this could pave the way for talks between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Putin.
The German official clarified that the understanding had been reached not with Russia, but among officials from Europe, the United States and Ukraine. The distinction raises questions about the scale of progress made in Abu Dhabi: the mutual understanding cited by Medinsky may be narrower than the framework Berlin had in mind, while Moscow has yet to say whether it accepts the approach put forward by Western officials.
Kushner and Witkoff are due to travel to Moscow on Thursday to discuss the outcome of the Abu Dhabi talks with Putin and, in Kushner’s words, “try to finalise the largest humanitarian prisoner release.” They will then travel to Dublin to brief Zelensky, who is attending a European Political Community summit alongside other European leaders.
Zelensky said the parties would realign their positions after the Moscow meeting. Asked about the possibility of a direct meeting between Putin and Zelensky, Kushner said such a meeting would be “great,” but that Moscow wanted to see more progress before agreeing to it. He acknowledged deep distrust between the two leaders and warned that reaching an agreement would take time.
David Arakhamia, who leads Zelensky’s parliamentary faction, said he hoped positive momentum could lead to an agreement by the end of the year. But with less than two months remaining in the year and the territorial dispute unresolved, the path to a broader peace agreement remains uncertain.
