Abu Dhabi: Russia and Ukraine have agreed to arrange a major exchange of prisoners of war following two days of US-mediated negotiations in Abu Dhabi, US officials said on Wednesday.
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and one of Washington's representatives at the talks, described the understanding as the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners between the two countries.
“One of the positives is we agreed that we're going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we're going to finalise the numbers tomorrow,” Kushner said after the negotiations concluded.
The final number of prisoners involved in the exchange is expected to be announced on Thursday. Neither side has yet disclosed how many people would be included.
First direct talks in nine months
The negotiations brought Russian and Ukrainian delegations together for the first time in nine months, with US envoys Kushner and Steve Witkoff mediating the discussions.
The talks focused on humanitarian issues, including the release of prisoners of war, the return of Ukrainian civilians held in captivity and children taken from Ukraine, according to statements from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kyiv's delegation was led by Rustem Umerov, while Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky headed Moscow's team.
Zelenskyy described the discussions as “constructive and quite substantive”. He also said the delegations had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine and possible steps towards de-escalation.
No breakthrough on ending the war
Despite the agreement on a prisoner release, the negotiations have not produced a wider breakthrough towards ending the war.
Russia and Ukraine remain divided over territorial demands and the security arrangements that would follow any settlement. Moscow has opposed the participation of European countries in direct negotiations, although European officials were in Abu Dhabi for separate consultations with the Ukrainian delegation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the discussions as productive but cautioned that ending the conflict would require further negotiations.
The talks took place against the backdrop of continued fighting and attacks on infrastructure in both countries.
The proposed prisoner exchange could provide a significant humanitarian outcome from the latest round of negotiations, even as the broader diplomatic effort to end the war remains unresolved.
(With inputs from AP)
