US Envoys Arrive in Moscow for Talks With Putin

Peace talks in Abu Dhabi have yielded a major prisoner exchange agreement, though core territorial disputes remain deadlocked as US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff touch down in Moscow for high-level meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin discussions mark the 10th time Mr. Witkoff has met Mr. Putin in person. The diplomatic push follows two days of trilateral peace talks in the United Arab Emirates, which finished on Wednesday. Kirill Dmitriev, Mr. Putin’s special envoy, met Mr. Kushner and Mr. Witkoff off their plane amid wet snow and accompanied them to central Moscow.

US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrive in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin following trilateral talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. pic.twitter.com/Dk9hTF2LIP

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The Abu Dhabi sessions represented the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine mediated by the US. While the talks produced a planned major prisoner exchange, broader political differences persisted. Mr. Kushner announced the agreement on Wednesday, noting that the final number of prisoners to be exchanged would be determined on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously indicated that negotiators discussed swapping 1,000 prisoners from each side, potentially climbing to 1,500 each.

Diverging Views on Territory

Despite the optimism surrounding the prisoner swap, deep divisions persist over territorial sovereignty. Mr. Kushner acknowledged that the question of territory would clearly be “the hardest” to resolve, noting that “clearly, there’s not great trust or love between the leaders.”

⚡️ Press briefing by the Russian delegation following the talks in Abu Dhabi 💬 Vladimir #Medinskiy: The world needs a new, modern, renewed security system that is fair and does not come at the expense of individual countries We will work towards thathttps://t.co/wC1p6gpWpv pic.twitter.com/3rxlLO7Ymf

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“Every inch of our land will be returned to Russia, one way or another.”

said Vladimir Medinsky, the Russian official who led Moscow’s delegation.

Ukraine has strongly rejected demands to surrender the whole of the eastern region of Donbas in return for peace. With talks deadlocked on land, US mediators have tried to steer discussions towards postwar security guarantees and reconstruction. David Arakhamia, a senior member of the Ukrainian delegation, reported “really big progress” on security guarantees for Ukraine after the war, expressing hope that a solution could be found before the new year.

US Envoys Arrive in Moscow for Talks With Putin — Photo: POLITICO.eu

The Path to Dublin

Following their consultations in Moscow, Mr. Kushner and Mr. Witkoff are scheduled to travel to Dublin to meet Mr. Zelenskyy and a group of European partners. European politicians say they oppose any discussion of Europe’s overall security before real progress on Ukraine – including a ceasefire – is made.

As diplomatic efforts accelerate across multiple capitals, the looming question centers on whether these back-channel discussions can bridge the gap between Moscow’s unyielding territorial demands and Kyiv’s refusal to cede sovereignty.

I met with President of Lithuania @GitanasNauseda. We are coordinating as closely as possible on all matters related to our efforts to achieve peace. I briefed Gitanas on the meetings that took place in Abu Dhabi these days. Most importantly, we managed to reach an agreement on a… pic.twitter.com/nJLmz9FR6T

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