Umerov, a member of Ukraine’s negotiating delegation and head of its Foreign Intelligence Service, said on November 11 that two days of talks among Ukraine, the United States and Russia ended that day in the United Arab Emirates. The parties agreed on a large-scale exchange of captured personnel, he said, but “major differences remain.”
In a social-media post, Umerov said the main outcome was the agreement on a large-scale exchange of prisoners. He said the parties are finalizing the details and moving toward implementation, and that bringing captured Ukrainian personnel home as soon as possible remains one of Ukraine’s top priorities.
The three sides also discussed achieving peace and Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction. Umerov said the first task is to end the war and ensure Ukraine receives security guarantees.
“After two days of negotiations, the parties were able to state their positions directly. Major differences remain. A great deal of difficult work still lies ahead, while there is also an opportunity to continue the negotiation process,” he said.
Analysts said that, although the parties agreed on a large-scale prisoner exchange, the talks brought no substantive progress on ending the conflict, territorial disputes, security guarantees for Ukraine, postwar reconstruction, or European participation in the negotiations.
Medinsky, an aide to the Russian president and head of Russia’s negotiating delegation, said the same day that Russia and Ukraine differ over European countries taking part in the talks. He said the Russian delegation did not meet European representatives in Abu Dhabi and that the negotiations were trilateral, involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine.
Ukraine has called for a wider format. Arakhamia, a member of Ukraine’s negotiating delegation, said in Abu Dhabi that talks on the Ukraine issue should be multilateral and that European countries should participate.
Original article: https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_34456469
