MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on Thursday that there was progress and a positive movement forward in negotiations on peace in Ukraine, as delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States prepared for talks in Abu Dhabi.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in the east, triggering the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two and biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.
Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy on investment who has played a central role in US-mediated negotiations on Ukraine, said that “warmongers” from Europe and Britain were “constantly trying to interfere with this process, constantly trying to meddle in it.”
“And the more such attempts there are, the more we see that progress is definitely being made,” he told reporters ahead of the talks. “There is positive movement forward.”
He said active work was underway on restoring relations with the United States, including within the framework of a US-Russia working group on economy.
The two sides also agreed on a fresh prisoner swap, US envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday, stressing that more work lay ahead.
“Today, delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Russia agreed to exchange 314 prisoners — the first such exchange in five months,” Witkoff said on social media.
“This outcome was achieved from peace talks that have been detailed and productive,” though “significant work remains,” he added in an X post.
