Two days of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi ended on Wednesday, November 11, with agreement on a large-scale prisoner swap but no breakthrough on ending the war, which is nearing the five-year mark. Russia's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said after the conclusion of the talks that mutual understanding had been achieved on some issues but not on others, and that more negotiations would take place, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via SRN News
Medinsky, in remarks broadcast on Russian state television, said a new potential future European security framework had been a central theme of the two-day talks. 'Together with the American side, we exchanged our views on this; on some points we reached a common understanding, whilst on others we did not. And this discussion will, of course, continue,' he said. 'The world needs a new, modern, updated security system — one that is fair and does not disadvantage any particular countries.'
Source: Reuters via SRN News
The one concrete outcome was humanitarian. Russia and Ukraine agreed on a large-scale prisoner swap during the talks, Medinsky said — the latest in a long line of such exchanges. Russia's state news agency TASS, citing Russian Lieutenant-General Alexander Zorin, reported the swap may happen in the next two to three weeks, and US envoy Jared Kushner told a news conference the number of prisoners would be finalised on Thursday. Meduza, summarising the outcome, said the two sides had agreed the exchange 'in principle', with its specific parameters to be announced in the near future.
Source: Al Jazeera via Jamaica Inquirer; Meduza
Awaaz Punjab reported on Tuesday that the first day of the Abu Dhabi round — the first trilateral meeting since February — ended after nearly four hours, with Kushner saying the US had 'good ideas' to bridge the gaps. The second and final scheduled day has now concluded with the prisoner-swap agreement. Read the day-one report
Territory remains the hardest issue
Territory was expected to be the main topic on the second day, but it remains 'the hardest', US envoy Jared Kushner said, and the American negotiators assessed that there is no trust between the sides, Meduza reported. Medinsky restated Moscow's maximalist line, saying 'every inch of our land will be returned to Russia'. Ukraine's negotiator David Arakhamia struck a more optimistic note, saying there was 'good momentum' from the Abu Dhabi talks toward reaching a solution before the end of the year, and that the next talks should be multilateral, not trilateral.
Source: Meduza; Al Jazeera via Jamaica Inquirer
Europe's place in the process stayed unresolved. Medinsky said Moscow was not opposed to participation from the European Union, but added it was unclear what there was for Russia and the EU to discuss: 'We have not received a single peace initiative or a single concrete peace proposal from European countries, so it is unclear what there is to discuss.' The Russian delegation did not communicate with the Europeans in Abu Dhabi, he said. France's foreign minister had said earlier that Europeans would join the Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via SRN News; Al Jazeera via Jamaica Inquirer
The delegations were led by Medinsky for Russia and by Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, with Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff mediating — the same teams Awaaz Punjab detailed in its day-one report. The core disputes going into Wednesday were unchanged: Russia demands Ukrainian withdrawal from four regions Moscow annexed in September 2022 but has never fully captured, an end to Ukraine's NATO bid and limits on its military; Kyiv rejects ceding territory voluntarily and argues an immediate ceasefire must come first, with only a direct Putin–Zelenskyy meeting able to settle territorial questions.
Source: Reuters via SRN News
What is solid
- The Abu Dhabi round concluded on Wednesday, November 11 after two days of US-mediated trilateral talks — Reuters.
- Russia and Ukraine agreed on a large-scale prisoner swap; TASS, citing Lt-Gen Alexander Zorin, said it may happen in two to three weeks — Reuters; Al Jazeera.
- Medinsky said the sides reached a common understanding on some points of a future European security framework, and not on others, and that more negotiations will take place — Reuters.
What is only claimed
- Whether the round marks real progress toward ending the war: Arakhamia spoke of 'good momentum', but Kushner called territory 'the hardest' issue and Medinsky restated Russia's full land claim; no breakthrough on territory or a ceasefire was reported by any outlet.
- The swap's scale and exact timing: numbers are to be finalised on Thursday, Kushner said, and the parameters had not been announced when the talks ended.
Watch for Thursday's finalised prisoner numbers, the swap itself in the coming two to three weeks, any date for the next round — and whether the Europeans are brought in, as Ukraine's Arakhamia wants the next talks to be multilateral.