Abu Dhabi talks have created positive momentum, confirm Russia and Ukraine

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

 The Russian and Ukrainian delegations described the negotiations in Abu Dhabi as constructive and productive after reaching understandings on a large-scale prisoner exchange and other measures aimed at ending the conflict.

A senior Ukrainian negotiator said on Wednesday that the peace talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi had gained positive momentum towards a resolution before the end of the year.

David Arakhamia, a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the talks should be multilateral rather than trilateral, adding that Europe should be represented in the process. Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator, said after the talks concluded on Wednesday that the two sides had reached a common understanding on certain issues and that further discussions would follow.

In remarks broadcast on Russian state television, Medinsky said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange, the latest in a long series of similar exchanges.

However, he expressed reservations about the possible inclusion of European nations in the talks, questioning what Russia and the European Union could discuss given what he described as a lack of proposals from the European side.

Medinsky said Russia has announced an agreement with Ukraine on a large-scale prisoner exchange following the talks in Abu Dhabi.

Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told a press conference in Abu Dhabi that the two delegations discussed humanitarian issues, with the future of European security also a central focus of the US-mediated negotiations.

He called for a fair security system that takes the interests of all nations into account and urged negotiators to address post-war security arrangements, arguing that the war in Ukraine has exposed weaknesses in Europe’s security architecture.

Medinsky said the Russian delegation had not met with European Union representatives in Abu Dhabi and that Moscow had received no peace proposals from the EU.

He added, however, that Russia remained open to considering any proposals submitted to it.

While criticising European nations for financing Ukraine and supplying it with weapons, he praised US President Donald Trump’s envoys for their pragmatic approach to the negotiations.