Negotiations in Abu Dhabi: agreement on exchange of prisoners without a breakthrough on key issues - Al-Monitor.
Two-day negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi ended with an agreement on a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, but no significant progress was made on the issue of a cessation of hostilities. Special envoy Jared Kushner announced the agreement on a major humanitarian exchange, the final parameters of which are still to be determined by the parties. According to initial statements from the Ukrainian side, the possibility of exchanging up to 1,000-1,500 people from each side is being discussed. This was the main practical outcome of the first series of direct US-mediated negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in nine months.
At the same time, basic disagreements on the territorial issue and future security guarantees for Ukraine remain unresolved. Moscow continues to insist on the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Donbas territories, which remain under Kiev's control, while the Ukrainian leadership rejects such conditions and demands reliable security guarantees. The Russian side also did not support the proposal for an immediate ceasefire, preferring to discuss the broader architecture of settlement after the war. Therefore, despite the positive assessments of the negotiations by Washington and Kiev, it is still too early to talk about the approach of a full peace agreement.
A separate source of tension was the participation of European representatives who were in Abu Dhabi, but were not allowed directly into the tripartite negotiation process. Their contacts were limited to separate consultations with the Ukrainian and American delegations, which again emphasized the contradiction between the European countries' desire to influence the terms of a future settlement and the American attempt to independently control the negotiation agenda.