Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has summed up the first day of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, during which the Kyiv and Moscow delegations discussed a prisoner-of-war exchange and the territorial question, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the previous day representatives of Kyiv and Moscow considered a prisoner exchange on a "1,000 for 1,000" or "1,500 for 1,500" formula.
The second issue concerned territory. "The second issue concerned territory; it was raised by the Russians. This is an issue at the level of leaders — our negotiators have that mandate," Zelensky said.
He also stressed that the presence of representatives from European countries was of great importance. "We want the EU, the US and Ukraine to have a single position," the politician explained.
Zelensky claims the Russian side has a distorted picture of the situation on the battlefield. "Putin lives in different information. It is an altered reality. And of course he shares it with the Americans: 'I need one, two, three months and we will fully occupy the eastern part of Ukraine, and I can also paint a picture for you — there will be a full occupation.' But that is not true. That is not reality," the Ukrainian head of state said.
Zelensky expects that on the second day the sides will talk more about de-escalation steps, energy, the Black Sea and once again about a prisoner exchange. They may also raise the issue of a trilateral meeting at the level of leaders.
The first day of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States ended in Abu Dhabi the previous day. The next round is scheduled for tomorrow, November 11.