Two-day talks between Ukraine, the US, and Russia in Abu Dhabi were the most difficult of the entire negotiation process, but the parties gained new impetus for finding agreements. The Ukrainian delegation hopes for further progress by the end of 2026.
Davyd Arahamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation and head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, stated this on November 11, reports Novyny.LIVE.
"This was the most difficult round of negotiations, but we have good momentum for a solution by New Year's", - noted Arahamia.
According to him, an important factor that helped make the talks more productive was the discussion of a possible post-war future for Ukraine and Russia. Moving to this topic allowed the participants to expand the dialogue and begin more substantive work.
Among the main results of the talks, Arahamia named the prospect of a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, the restoration of the trilateral negotiation format, and the involvement of European states in discussing the future security system.
He also called for agreeing on the date of the next round of consultations as soon as possible. According to Arahamia, the negotiation process should be continued after the planned visit of American representatives to Moscow.
Earlier, Jared Kushner announced that he, together with US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, plans to travel to Russia on November 12 for a meeting with Vladimir Putin. American negotiators are to discuss the results of the consultations in Abu Dhabi.
Budanov explained when the results of the negotiations will be announced
Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stated after the trilateral meeting that the Ukrainian side will not disclose the content of the talks until concrete results are achieved.
According to him, public discussion of issues that are being negotiated is currently inappropriate.
"Only the result matters. When we achieve it, it will be publicly announced", -Budanov emphasized.
Thus, the Ukrainian delegation for now does not detail possible agreements on cessation of hostilities, territorial issues, and security guarantees.
Medinsky spoke about Russia's position
Head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky also commented on the results of the negotiations. According to him, the central topic of the meetings was the future system of European security.
As reported by TASS, Medinsky stated that on certain issues the participants in the consultations managed to find mutual understanding. However, he did not name specific agreements.
The Russian representative considers it necessary to comprehensively review approaches to security in Europe after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
"The security system in Europe needs to be treated as a whole; a band-aid is not enough", -Medinsky said.
He also expressed Moscow's position, according to which the future security system must take into account the interests of all states and not pose threats to any side.
At the same time, Medinsky said that the Russian delegation did not hold negotiations with representatives of European countries in Abu Dhabi. He critically assessed their role in the peace process and stated that Moscow had not received concrete proposals from the Europeans.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian delegation, after the trilateral consultations, began a separate meeting with European partners, as reported by "Ukrainska Pravda" citing a source.
A large-scale prisoner exchange could take place in the coming weeks
One of the most concrete results of the talks could be a new large-scale exchange of prisoners of war.
Medinsky publicly stated that there is a principled agreement between Ukraine and Russia regarding its conduct. According to the Russian representative, the parameters of the exchange are planned to be announced soon.
Alexander Zorin, First Deputy Head of the Information Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said that the exchange agreed upon in Abu Dhabi could take place within the next two to three weeks.
According to his estimate, this will be one of the largest exchanges of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia during the war.
At the same time, the timeframe named by the Russian representative is preliminary. The Ukrainian side has not yet confirmed a specific date for the exchange.
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the first day of talks, the parties discussed two possible formats - "1000 for 1000" or "1500 for 1500" prisoners of war.
According to Zelenskyy, the American mediators plan to continue discussing this issue during a trip to Moscow.
As previously reported by Kurs Ukrainy, a preliminary agreement on the large-scale exchange was revealed as early as November 10 from a source close to the Ukrainian negotiating delegation.
Currently, the final number of prisoners, lists of participants, and the date of the exchange have not been officially announced.
Despite positive assessments from individual participants, no joint decision on ending the war was announced following the two-day talks. Arahamia's statement about the possibility of reaching a solution by New Year's reflects the expectations of a Ukrainian negotiator, not a deadline set by the parties for signing a peace agreement.
The talks between Ukraine, the US, and Russia took place in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11. After the second day, the parties announced their intention to continue diplomatic work.
Based on materials: Novyny.LIVE, Ukrinform
