US Envoys Head to Moscow After Abu Dhabi Russia-Ukraine Talks
American envoys will travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin following two days of US-mediated Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi that yielded an agreement for a major prisoner exchange. Delegations from Ukraine and Russia participated in the sessions, marking the first direct diplomatic engagement between the warring nations since February.
Sharp Divisions Persist Over European Involvement in Future Negotiations
US envoy Jared Kushner described the planned swap as the “biggest” ever, though neither side released numerical figures for the release. Following Thursday’s meeting in Moscow with Putin, Kushner and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Dublin is currently hosting European summits this week.
Despite the momentum from the Abu Dhabi summit, the first diplomatic talks since military operations in Iran halted discussions in February, disagreements persist over European involvement in subsequent frameworks. Russian lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky questioned the inclusion of European states, stating that Moscow has not received a single concrete peace proposal from European capitals. Ukraine continues to push for greater participation from its primary European backers.
Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia reported positive momentum from the two-day discussions, noting that certain sensitive issues remain confidential. Officials from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the European Union attended the Abu Dhabi meetings on the sidelines as the conflict approaches its fifth year following the February 2022 invasion.
