Russia and Ukraine Agree to a Large Prisoner Exchange After U.S.-Mediated Talks
U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi ended with a Russia-Ukraine agreement on a large prisoner exchange, but not a peace settlement. Envoys were set to meet Putin and Zelenskyy.
The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.
Two days of U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi ended with agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange but no breakthrough on ending the war, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported. The war is nearing the five-year mark after Russia's full-scale invasion. The meetings were the first between the two sides since February, both outlets reported.
Both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed the planned swap. Russia's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said Wednesday that both sides had agreed on a large-scale prisoner exchange and that mutual understanding had been reached on some issues, Al Jazeera reported. The BBC said both sides confirmed that a large-scale prisoner-of-war exchange was in the works and could be carried out soon. U.S. envoy Jared Kushner told a news conference the number of prisoners would be finalized on Thursday, Al Jazeera reported. Russia's state-run news agency TASS reported that the exchange should happen in two to three weeks, according to Al Jazeera.
Kushner said Wednesday that he would travel to Moscow with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to brief President Vladimir Putin and "make more progress on some of the issues that were discussed, because we see some openings and some opportunities there." He and Witkoff were then scheduled to fly to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "and explore some of the ideas we came up with," Al Jazeera reported. On Thursday, the BBC reported that Kushner and Witkoff had arrived in Moscow for talks with Putin. Videos shared by Russian media showed them being welcomed by Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev. The BBC said they were due to meet Putin at midday Moscow time and would then fly to Dublin. Neither president attended the Abu Dhabi sessions.
Kushner described the meeting as "a very tough meeting but a productive one" and said it was "a long way to get everyone back to the table," according to Al Jazeera. He said territorial issues would be the hardest to settle but that "progress" was made on a post-war security framework. In remarks reported by the BBC, Kushner said, "These deals are very hard and complex, and this one is very emotional, very complex." He added, "The reality is there is no trust right now between the sides and that is to be expected after a conflict like this."
Medinsky said a lot depends "on Ukraine, on the position of the US, and on whether Europe comes to its senses," the BBC reported. On territory, he said "every inch" of land would be "returned to Russia one way or another." The BBC said a core obstacle has been Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russia, and that Moscow has not backed down from its demand that Ukraine relinquish the parts of Donetsk it still holds. Kushner said a peace agreement cannot occur "until there's an agreement on territory and on all other bilateral issues."
Ukraine's negotiator Davyd Arakhamia, in comments reported by the BBC, called the round "one of the hardest" and said he felt "good momentum." Al Jazeera reported that he also said the next talks should be multilateral, with Europe represented. Zelenskyy said he did not think it was possible to think about European security "without Europe." Prisoner exchanges have happened before during the war; Dock Line previously reported one such case: Russia Frees Stephen Hubbard After Four Years. Thank God He Is Home, but Putin Is No Humanitarian..
Opinion:
If a large prisoner exchange is completed, that is a real good. Men and women should come home from captivity. Thank God for every person who is returned. A swap is still not a peace, and no one should pretend otherwise.
The talks ended without a settlement because the two sides are not agreed on the land, or on trust. When a Russian negotiator says every inch will be returned one way or another, he is not describing a cease-fire. He is describing a demand. Diplomacy that keeps talking is not the same thing as a deal that asks Ukraine to sign away what it has not lost at the table.
The United States is right to work for the release of captives and to test whether there is any opening for a just peace. It is wrong to confuse movement with a breakthrough. Patient diplomacy should tell the truth about the invasion, respect the lives of the people under fire, and refuse to sell a false peace as a finished one.
