Russia and Ukraine have agreed in principle to a new large-scale exchange of prisoners of war. The agreement was reached during trilateral talks held in Abu Dhabi with the participation of the United States. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky.
He said the specific parameters of the agreement will be made public in the near future. He did not give figures for the number of prisoners who will be included, nor the timeframe for its implementation. Medinsky described the talks as friendly and highlighted the active role of the American representatives at the trilateral table.
According to him, humanitarian issues received special attention during the second day of negotiations. A day earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that two options for the exchange were being considered: an agreement with 1,000 prisoners from each side, or another, even larger one, with 1,500 prisoners from each country.
At the center of the trilateral talks, according to Medinsky, was the future architecture of Europe’s security after the end of the conflict in Ukraine. The head of the Russian delegation stated that the world needs a new, modern and updated security system. According to him, it will be fair and will not operate to the detriment of any individual country.
“We will work on this,” he said after the conclusion of the second day of negotiations. According to him, the war in Ukraine has shown that the current security system in Europe is not functioning effectively. This makes it necessary to form a new framework for the post-war period.
The discussions focused, according to the Russian side, on finding mechanisms that could prevent future threats and strengthen regional stability. Medinsky clarified that the details of the negotiation process will not be made public until final agreements are reached. He described the atmosphere of the meetings as friendly, highlighting the active role of the American representatives.