Security guarantee remains key point for Moscow, Kyiv as negotiations conclude

A firefighter works at the site of a residential building hit by a jet drone strike in Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday. REUTERS

UAE talks finalize prisoner swap

The United Arab Emirates has again taken center stage in diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, as trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine ended on Wednesday, with Russia and Ukraine reaching an agreement on a "large-scale" prisoner exchange.

The two-day closed-door talks, which were held in Abu Dhabi, mark the fourth round of US-led trilateral negotiations since the process was launched in January. Earlier rounds stalled in February, when the Iran crisis diverted Washington's diplomatic focus away from Eastern Europe.

Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation at the talks, told a news conference that details of the exchange would be announced soon and more negotiations would take place.

Jared Kushner, a member of the US negotiating team, told reporters the prisoner exchange deal was one of the positive outcomes of the negotiations, with the exact number of prisoners to be finalized on Thursday.

"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, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, said after the conclusion of the talks.

Kushner co-chaired the US delegation alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Medinsky said a new potential future European security framework had been a central theme in the talks. Medinsky called for the establishment of a fair security framework that takes into account the interests of all countries.

"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. The world needs a new, modern, updated security system — one that is fair and does not disadvantage any particular countries," Medinsky said.

Kushner admitted Russia had its own security concerns and had been asked to put forward its proposals to reduce tensions.

Understandings 'reached'

He said the parties had reached understandings on some issues, without providing further details.

Kushner said he and Witkoff planned to travel to Moscow for further discussions on ending the Ukraine conflict.

He said the two would seek progress in Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to US demands to end the conflict, and would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky afterward.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier that security guarantees would top the agenda. A source within Russia's negotiating team said ending the war was "merely one item on the agenda", and Moscow's core priority was redefining security arrangements "for the entire continent".

Zelensky said on Tuesday in Denmark that the talks were "constructive and quite substantive", adding his team had reported that humanitarian issues and security guarantees were among the topics discussed.

Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said earlier Kyiv's priorities remained securing a ceasefire and security guarantees. "Our people are waiting to end this war," he said.

Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, welcomed the talks, saying such diplomatic efforts "reflect the contributions of the GCC states in supporting international security and stability".

Moscow insists Kyiv abandon any bid to join NATO and has ruled out a general ceasefire, arguing a pause in fighting would only let Ukrainian forces rebuild their combat capacity. Kyiv has rejected those terms, insisting an immediate halt to hostilities must precede broader negotiations — a proposal Russia has also dismissed.