The key facts

  • A meeting between Putin and Witkoff and Kushner took place in Moscow, following two days of talks in Abu Dhabi
  • Following the talks in the UAE, a new prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv was announced; the details have not been confirmed
  • Kushner said that in Moscow they would discuss the 'numbers' of the exchange and possible European participation, which Russia has so far rejected; a meeting with Zelensky in Ireland is then planned

Meeting in Moscow after talks in Abu Dhabi

Russian President Vladimir Putin received American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on November 12. They arrived in the Russian capital the same day, having completed two days of talks on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, which were held with US mediation. Russian media, including the state agency TASS, reported the start of the Moscow talks.

Composition of the delegations and substance of the discussions

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by presidential aides Yuri Ushakov and Vladimir Medinsky, as well as special envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Medinsky headed the Russian delegation at the talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday.

What was agreed in the UAE and what comes next

The new round of talks with US mediation concluded in the UAE capital on Wednesday. Its main tangible outcome was an agreement on a new prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv, the details of which have not yet been confirmed. After the talks, Kushner told journalists that he and Witkoff would travel to Moscow on Thursday for a meeting with Putin, where they intend to 'agree on the numbers' of the prisoner exchange and discuss possible European participation in the talks — something Moscow has so far opposed. Then, according to him, the delegation will head to Ireland, where it will hold a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived in Dublin on Wednesday.