Moscow reports a tentative agreement with Ukraine on a prisoner exchange following talks in Abu Dhabi

Agreement on a prisoner exchange

Russia and Ukraine have 'in principle' agreed on a new large-scale prisoner exchange, and the specific parameters of the agreement will be announced in the near future. This was stated by the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, at a press conference after the second day of trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi, Anadolu reports. According to him, the humanitarian issue was raised, and members of the Russian delegation worked on it 'purposefully.' When asked about previous rounds in Turkey and Switzerland, where the sides had managed to agree on exchanges, Medinsky did not reveal details, noting that the specifics of the negotiation process are not discussed before a final agreement.

European security and the position on Europeans

Medinsky named the future architecture of European security as the central item on the agenda: the sides exchanged positions, 'in some places they found common ground, in some places they did not,' and the conversation will continue. He said that Russia raised the issue of a new European security system back in 2008 and 2021, and that the war in Ukraine has shown the failure of the existing system. According to him, the Russian delegation did not have contact with European representatives in Abu Dhabi: he said he does not understand in what capacity they are present, and that no specific peace initiatives have come from European countries. Medinsky also spoke positively about Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, calling them results-oriented, and thanked the leadership of the UAE for organizing the talks.