Abu Dhabi Talks Yield Prisoner Exchange Deal as Europe Excluded

US, Russian and Ukrainian talks in Abu Dhabi produced initial positive signs, with the warring sides agreeing to a new prisoner exchange and Washington preparing the next round of contacts without European participation. Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement on a new, large-scale prisoner exchange, announced Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky without specifying numbers or timing. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to visit Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin. Substantive differences remain, as Moscow demands Ukrainian withdrawal from the entire Donbas, while Kyiv insists on long-term security guarantees, including maintaining an 800,000-strong army with Western funding. Europe remains excluded from the trilateral process, with the Russian delegation chief dismissively referring to Europeans as the "hotel lobby." Tensions are heightened by two espionage cases: a US NATO officer arrested in Britain on suspicion of spying for Russia, and two people detained in Kaliningrad accused of cooperating with Polish intelligence.