Key facts
- Russia, Ukraine and the US reached an agreement in principle on a large-scale prisoner of war exchange.
- Zelenskyy said the exchange could involve as many as 1,000 to 1,200 people on both sides.
- Russia's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said territorial exchanges were out of the question, according to Russian state media.
- A US official said postwar security arrangements could not be implemented until territorial issues were settled.
- US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were due to travel to Moscow on November 12 to meet Putin.
The first trilateral negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the US since early in the year took place in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, and produced an agreement in principle on a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, but no visible movement toward ending the war.
Zelenskyy said in Dublin on November 11 that the exchange could involve as many as 1,000 or up to 1,200 people on both sides, while stressing that Kyiv has always proposed an all-for-all exchange. Ukraine's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said significant differences remain after the two days of talks.
Russia's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said territorial exchanges as part of a settlement were out of the question, according to Russian state media. Zelenskyy said the Russian delegation rejected Ukraine's proposal for an energy ceasefire, saying it had no mandate to discuss the issue.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington intended to proceed incrementally and that postwar security arrangements could not be implemented until agreement had been reached on territorial and other bilateral issues. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were due to travel to Moscow on November 12 to meet Putin before heading to Dublin for talks with Zelenskyy, who was on a visit to Ireland.
Paul Saunders, president and CEO of the Center for the National Interest, told RFE/RL the progress achieved so far was largely symbolic. James Gilmore, a former US ambassador to the OSCE, said the prisoner exchange and continuation of negotiations showed that any progress opens the door to further progress, but cautioned that the fundamental positions of Moscow and Kyiv remained difficult to reconcile.