ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Two days of talks in Abu Dhabi have ended, and one definite outcome, reported by the leaders of the delegations on Wednesday, was a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war – announced by Rustem Umerov, chief of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service and head of its delegation, and confirmed, in almost identical wording, by Russia’s Vladimir Medinsky.
Umerov posted on X that the exchange was the main result of these two days, and stressed that it was only an announcement, as the details still should be worked out and the swap should be carried out in practice.
“Bringing our people home remains one of our top priorities,”
“We are doing everything possible to ensure that every Ukrainian returns from captivity as soon as possible.”
Medinsky, presidential aide and head of Russia’s delegation, said that humanitarian issues were discussed at the talks, according to TASS. “We reached a fundamental agreement on another large-scale prisoner exchange. Details will be announced soon,” he said.
And the swap is precisely what US envoy Jared Kushner referred to as the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners after talks’ end – with the numbers to be finalised on Thursday – and the one which now he and his fellow envoy Steve Witkoff are to continue working on, travelling to Moscow on Thursday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and then to Dublin where they will brief President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Peace and rebuilding on the agenda
But prisoners were not the only issue on the agenda. At the trilateral talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia delegations, the issue of peace and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine was also discussed, and Umerov highlighted what he sees as the first step toward it – to end the war and ensure security guarantees for Ukraine.
During two days, the parties were able to put their positions on the table directly, but the gap was still there. “Significant differences remain,” Umerov wrote, adding that “there is still a great deal of difficult work ahead,” but noting that there are opportunities to continue the negotiation process.
The talks also were not brief. Tuesday’s first round of consultations lasted four and a half hours with a 40-minute break, followed by a session on Wednesday that lasted for about two hours, according to TASS. Among those present at the start of the talks were Witkoff and Kushner, Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Alexus Grynkewich, and Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The issues under discussion were developing mechanisms to prevent threats and strengthen regional stability, and to discuss the key issues of a new continental security system in the post-conflict period.
Thanks to Washington, Abu Dhabi and Europe
Among those whom Umerov thanked were the United States, for its active role in organising and conducting the negotiations, with special thanks going to Witkoff and Kushner for their personal involvement in the process, and the United Arab Emirates for its hospitality and support for the negotiations.
Umerov also thanked European partners who had worked alongside Ukraine in Abu Dhabi – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and representatives of NATO and the European Commission – for their joint work there.