Russia, Ukraine reach deal on prisoner swop as US says lack of trust holds back talks

Résumé détaillé

Russia and Ukraine agree prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi peace talks as US mediators say major issues remain unresolved. Read more at straitstimes.com.

US envoy Jared Kushner speaks at UAE-hosted trilateral talks between the US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations, amid a new push to end the war in Ukraine, in Abu Dhabi.

ABU DHABI – Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agreed to a major prisoner exchange at two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi that ended on Nov 11, but US mediators said differences remained on major issues, including territory.

At their first negotiations in nine months, the two countries agreed in principle to exchange prisoners of war and to determine the numbers on Nov 12.

US envoy Jared Kushner said the new swap would be the “biggest humanitarian release of prisoners” in the 4½year-old war, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said its scope would be “significant”.

Both Russia and Ukraine said that progress had been made in the Abu Dhabi talks and negotiations would continue.

But there was little else in the way of concrete breakthroughs announced after the US-brokered meetings.

Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, said mediators were appealing to each side’s interests to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and he expressed confidence they would find a pathway to peace.

Despite public optimism from Trump, there has been no sign of major compromises on the main issues after more than 4½ years of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv has strongly rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands to surrender the whole of the eastern region of Donbas in return for peace.

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