By Bassam Hatoum
Jared Kushner said he and fellow U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet with President Vladimir Putin, then fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia and Ukraine agreed a large exchange of prisoners of war, envoys said Wednesday as two days of U.S. mediated talks concluded, but they announced no major breakthrough on ending the conflict that began after Moscow’s full-scale invasion nearly five years ago.
Hopes had been low for any significant development in the first meeting in nine months between the delegations. Russia and Ukraine have from time to time swapped POWs but have remained far apart in their demands for accepting a peace settlement.
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U.S. officials say they are determined to revive Washington’s peace efforts that so far have failed to deliver significant results.
As well as postwar security guarantees for both countries, other key hurdles for negotiators are the fate of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and what role European countries will play in an eventual settlement.
“One of the positives is we agreed that we’re going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we’re going to finalize the numbers tomorrow,” Kushner said after the talks in Abu Dhabi ended.
Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, and Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv’s contingent, confirmed the planned exchange, though Medinsky noted that the agreement was “in principle.”
Umerov said Kyiv’s delegation was expected to meet later Wednesday with representatives of European governments, the European Union and NATO who were in the capital of the United Arab Emirates but did not attend the three-way talks.
Moscow doesn’t want European countries, which are concerned about Russia’s conduct and broader intentions on the continent, involved in the direct negotiations. Kushner said one of the goals of the Moscow meeting is to try to get Europeans added to the talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said European representatives could eventually join peace talks, but he said their current statements “don’t indicate any desire on their part to contribute to movement along the path toward peace.” Moscow complains that Europe is financing and supplying weaponry to Ukraine.
Kushner said both Ukraine and Russia needed clarity on postwar security arrangements. He said European countries, the EU and NATO have to be involved in those discussions to build consensus on next steps.
Ukraine wants to make sure Moscow doesn’t invade again, and EU officials have declared that any discussions on Europe’s security arrangements could only start after a ceasefire. Many in Europe see the inclusion of Russia in those plans as a concession to Putin, who has described NATO’s eastward expansion as a top threat to its security. Russia has demanded that the alliance pull back its troops from its borders.
Russia’s security concerns were discussed at the talks, Kushner said, adding that Moscow was told it needs to provide different de-escalation and proposals for them to be acceptable to Europe.
“The reality is, is there’s no trust right now between the sides. And that’s to be expected after a conflict like this,” he said.
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