Ukraine hopes for a peace agreement by the New Year: negotiations in Abu Dhabi concluded

This was stated by a member of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, following two days of negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, reports bb.lv citing BBC and RBC-Ukraine. "We have a good momentum to find a solution by the New Year," Arakhamia said. At the same time, he acknowledged that the negotiations were not easy. "Because they [Russian representatives] came with very tough directives, and it was very difficult to soften the tone of the discussion," he explained at a press conference. ## What is happening with the Donbas issue? One of the members of the Ukrainian delegation, head of the President's Office Kyrylo Budanov, evaded a direct answer to journalists' questions about whether the Russian side continues to demand the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas. "The question that is raised during the negotiations is a subject of negotiation. Only the result matters. When we achieve it, it will be announced publicly," Budanov said. Arakhamia also emphasized that the negotiations should be multilateral, not trilateral, and that Europe needs to be involved. In turn, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, made a dismissive remark about the participation of European leaders in the negotiations, reproaching Europe for supplying weapons to Ukraine. ## US representatives will go to Moscow U.S. Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Moscow on Thursday. Kushner announced this at a press conference following the conclusion of the trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi. According to him, after the visit to Moscow, he and Witkoff will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin. Kushner described the meetings as very productive. He noted that difficult issues were discussed, the most challenging of which remains territorial. According to the American representative, parallel negotiations with European representatives in Abu Dhabi were also productive. Kushner emphasized that Europe must be present at the negotiating table. Arakhamia stated that after the visit of the American representatives to Moscow and their meeting with Zelensky, it will be necessary to determine the date of the next round of negotiations. ## The main result — agreement on prisoner exchange The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, stated that there are opportunities for continuing the negotiation process. He identified the main result of the two-day meetings as reaching an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange. "We have completed two days of negotiations in the United Arab Emirates. The main result is that we managed to reach an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange. We are now working on coordinating the details and practical implementation," Umerov reported. According to him, the trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia discussed issues related to achieving peace and post-war reconstruction. "The first step should be to end the war and provide security guarantees to Ukraine," he emphasized. Umerov acknowledged that over the two days, the parties were able to clearly articulate their positions, but significant disagreements remain between them. "There is still a lot of difficult work ahead, but there are opportunities for continuing the negotiation process," added the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He thanked Witkoff and Kushner for their personal involvement, the United Arab Emirates for their hospitality and support for the negotiations, and representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the European Commission for their joint work in Abu Dhabi.