The next round of talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia could take place either in the UAE or in Switzerland. Ukraine insists it should happen as soon as possible, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a press scrum in Ireland after speaking with US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
He added that there is an agreement to exchange more than 1,000 prisoners of war. The next steps must follow.
“People will return home — that is the first thing. There will be another meeting — that is the second. God willing, the war will end — that is the third. And there are many other things I am not yet ready to comment on,” the president said.
Ukraine believes it would be possible to exchange everyone for everyone, and that this would also benefit Russia. But bringing 1,000 captives home is a significant agreement.
On the US and Russian agreement for European representatives to be at the negotiating table, the Ukrainian president added that Ukraine had been fighting for this for two years. Europe will now choose authorised representatives who will take part in the next round.
Zelenskyy added that he does not know many details about the dialogue between the Americans and Vladimir Putin.
He also noted that the security guarantees currently being discussed are important for Europe, because Ukraine is part of it.
“If we are in NATO, that is one architecture. Of course, there will be changes, because a new strong country with a powerful army would be in NATO. Everyone in Europe would be happy — we talked about this today. But if we are not in NATO, that is a different architecture,” Zelenskyy said.
- On 10–11 November, the first talks since February between Ukraine, Russia and the United States took place in Abu Dhabi. After that, the US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Russia to speak with Putin.
- On 12 November, they flew from Russia to Ireland for a meeting with the Ukrainian president. The talks produced three outcomes: an agreement on a major exchange, an agreement on Europe’s participation in the talks, and an agreement on the next round of negotiations.