Russia and Ukraine hold nearly 4 hours of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi

In a four-hour meeting mediated by the United States, Russia and Ukraine held their first talks in nine months to attempt an end to their ongoing war on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the session as "very productive," while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it "constructive and quite substantive."

Despite hopes of a breakthrough, previous talks have not yielded significant progress. The absence of any major developments in this meeting reflects this trend. The talks focused on humanitarian issues, prisoner exchanges, returning Ukrainian civilians and children in captivity, and security guarantees. Both sides discussed the possibility of a large-scale prisoner swap, though details are yet to be determined.

The two-day session marks the first such meeting since February, a period when the conflict has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and thousands of civilians. U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, a U.S. envoy, led the delegation from Washington. Ukrainian delegation leader Rustem Umerov thanked the U.S. for its efforts to end Russia's invasion and expressed hope for lasting peace for Ukraine.

Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky hoped the meeting would advance peace efforts. However, fundamental disagreements remain between the two nations on key aspects of a potential deal, including territorial cessions and military arrangements.