Russia, US and Ukraine Resume Abu Dhabi Talks With European Delegates Excluded

Negotiators from Russia, the United States and Ukraine concluded two days of talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday with an agreement in principle on a large prisoner exchange, but no breakthrough on the core issues of territory or a ceasefire, Euronews reported. The first round on Tuesday lasted about four and a half hours with one break, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported. Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, led the Russian delegation. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the senior White House adviser and President Trump's son-in-law, represented Washington, Vedomosti reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called Tuesday's meeting productive and said a quick resolution should not be expected, according to Lenta.ru.

Kushner said the final numbers for the prisoner exchange would be settled on Thursday, Euronews reported. Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Medinsky both confirmed a swap was planned, though neither gave a final figure, Interfax Ukraine reported. Kushner described the talks as "substantive" but "very tough," and said security guarantees were the main topic discussed, with territory remaining the hardest issue to resolve, the Washington Times reported. Russia still insists on receiving all of Donbas, and Ukraine rejects that concession, Lenta.ru reported. A commentator quoted by Russian media said lifting sanctions and returning Russian assets frozen at Euroclear were not yet under discussion. Russian outlets, citing a PBS News report that quotes an unnamed American official, said Washington pressed for reviving the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-Russia Council, which stopped meeting in 2022.

Europe was not part of the three-way talks. Politico reported that European delegates who travelled to Abu Dhabi were kept out because Russia objected. Medinsky told reporters, "We don't really understand in what capacity they are here." Other Russian outlets said the Europeans held separate meetings (Rambler). President Volodymyr Zelensky said Europe must decide by the end of November who will represent it, ideally at a meeting in Germany on November 19, Ukrinform reported. The European Union's funding for Ukraine remains under separate negotiation. European Council President António Costa kept Ukraine financing talks scheduled for late November despite an appeal from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Kyiv Independent reported. Costa added a broader discussion of Ukraine at an informal summit in Dublin.

Witkoff and Kushner now plan to travel to Moscow on Thursday to brief Putin on the talks, and then to meet Zelensky in Dublin, the Moscow Times reported. Officials going into the Abu Dhabi round had said they were not seeking a final agreement there, but hoped to establish a framework for more frequent negotiations.