Russia and Ukraine agreed to a large prisoner exchange during U.S.-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi that concluded on Wednesday though the warring sides remained far apart on core territorial and political terms.
“France will be there and will ensure that Europe's voice is heard,” France's foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told French radio said Sunday that European officials would turn up for the U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in the United Arab Emirates.
The two-day trilateral meetings brought senior delegations together in the United Arab Emirates for the first time in nine months. Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s special peace envoy and son-in-law, led the mediation alongside Steve Witkoff.
Negotiators agreed in principle to an exchange expected to involve more than 1,000 prisoners from each side. Kushner said the swap would reunite families and build momentum toward peace, though substantial gaps persisted on post-war security architecture and land.
The Russian delegation attending the talks included presidential aides Vladimir Medinsky and Yuri Ushakov, GRU chief Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Foreign Ministers Mikhail Galuzin and Sergei Ryabkov.
The U.S. has asked Russia whether it would oppose security guarantees for Ukraine resembling NATO’s collective defense commitment.
Concerned that Europe’s security future could be discussed without them, European governments sent envoys to Abu Dhabi to try to influence the discussions. European Commission, European Council, German, French, and British security advisers, as well as the NATO secretary general’s chief of staff, attended.
Medinsky dismissed their presence, stating that if they had come “as tourists,” they could visit local attractions, and asserted that Russia would speak to European countries only when their conscience awakens and they stop supplying Ukraine with weapons.
Before the trilateral sessions began on November 10, U.S., Ukrainian, and European representatives held separate consultations. Participants in those preparatory meetings included Britain, France, Germany, Italy, European Union institutions, and NATO.
Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia described the meetings as “one of the toughest ones.” Arakhamia said that the Russian delegation arrived with very strict directives. Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, reported major progress on security and prosperity issues.
“These were very substantive,” Kushner said of the talks.
Kushner and Witkoff were due to travel to Moscow on Thursday. Witkoff will then fly to Dublin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian officials acknowledged the difficulty of the diplomatic track while reporting heavy seasonal pressure on energy infrastructure. Arakhamia said that the Russians came with very strict directives. Arakhamia said that made softening the discussion challenging. Arakhamia emphasized that Russia intensified pressure ahead of winter because Ukraine is most vulnerable during the cold months due to a lack of interceptors.
Earlier coverage: US-mediated Talks on Ending the War Between Russia and Ukraine Begin in Abu Dhabi
I met with President of Lithuania @GitanasNauseda. We are coordinating as closely as possible on all matters related to our efforts to achieve peace. I briefed Gitanas on the meetings that took place in Abu Dhabi these days. Most importantly, we managed to reach an agreement on a… pic.twitter.com/nJLmz9FR6T