ABU DHABI, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine ended on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, with Russia and Ukraine reaching an agreement on a "large-scale" prisoner exchange.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation at talks on the Ukraine crisis, told a press conference that details of the exchange would be announced soon and that negotiations would continue.
He said the delegations had discussed humanitarian issues, with the future of European security being a central focus of the U.S.-mediated talks.
Medinsky added that parties had reached understandings on some issues, without providing further details.
He defended the need to discuss post-war security arrangements at the current stage of negotiations, saying the conflict in Ukraine had exposed shortcomings in Europe's security system.
Medinsky called for the establishment of a fair security framework that takes into account the interests of all countries.
Regarding European involvement, Medinsky said the Russian delegation had not held discussions with European representatives in Abu Dhabi and did not understand their status at the talks.
"No, we have not talked to them, (and) we do not really understand their status here. The negotiations are of a trilateral nature," he said.
Medinsky criticized the leadership of some European countries for financing and supplying weapons to Ukraine, accusing them of contributing to civilian casualties and prolonging the conflict.
He said Moscow had received no peace initiatives or proposals from European countries and therefore saw no reason to hold discussions with them at present. However, he indicated that Russia would be prepared to consider concrete proposals if they were presented.
Meanwhile, Jared Kushner, a member of the U.S. negotiating team, told reporters that the discussions were thorough and covered all major issues.
He noted that the prisoner exchange deal was one of the positive outcomes of the negotiations, with the exact number of prisoners to be finalized on Thursday.
"We just concluded the second day of discussions. These were very substantive," Kushner said, describing the negotiations as a good first step forward.
He also said he and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff planned to travel to Moscow for further discussions on ending the Ukraine conflict.
Kushner noted that the two would seek progress in Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to U.S. demands to end the war, and would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky afterward.
Kushner added that Russia had its own security concerns and had been asked to put forward proposals to reduce tensions.
On the Ukrainian side, negotiator David Arakhamia, chairman of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, a Ukrainian political party, said the Abu Dhabi talks had generated "good momentum" toward finding a solution to the conflict before the end of the year.
Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service and a member of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, said earlier Wednesday that the Ukrainian team planned to hold separate discussions with European partners following the trilateral session.
Umerov also confirmed that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange, with the exact numbers to be announced later.
The latest round of Russia-U.S.-Ukraine trilateral talks took place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first day's discussions lasted nearly four hours, while Wednesday's session concluded in less than two hours.
Although progress was reported on the prisoner exchange, no agreement was announced on a ceasefire, territorial disputes or long-term security guarantees.■
