Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due to brief Vladimir Putin after Russia and Ukraine agreed to a prisoner exchange but failed to bridge their central political differences
Thunder Bay – International News Service — U.S. envoys arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, carrying the results of two days of negotiations involving Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi.
The United Arab Emirates meetings produced an agreement in principle on a large prisoner exchange, although its details have not been released. No broader ceasefire or peace agreement emerged, and the delegations gave no indication that they had resolved disputes over territory and postwar security.
Russia continues to demand Ukrainian withdrawal from eastern areas that Moscow claims but does not fully control. Kyiv has rejected surrendering land and says any settlement must include reliable security guarantees. Fighting and Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy system continued during the negotiations.
U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to travel from Moscow to Dublin, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is attending a European Political Community summit. They are due to brief him on their meeting with Putin.
The diplomatic sequence marks a material advance from the opening of the Abu Dhabi negotiations, but it also highlights Europe’s uncertain role. More than 40 European leaders are meeting in Dublin as Washington explores a wider security arrangement with Moscow. Russia has so far resisted giving European representatives a direct place in the negotiations.
Before the talks, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would propose practical de-escalation measures and seek a path toward a leaders’ meeting. Moscow’s chief negotiator said discussions would continue, but neither side described a clear route through the territorial deadlock.
