Putin Credits Trump Mediation as Russia and Ukraine Advance Abu Dhabi Talks on Prisoner Exchanges and Border Demarcation
What happened
On November 12, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin, opening the session by thanking Donald Trump for brokering bilateral and trilateral discussions.
The Context
* Back-to-back negotiation tracks: The Moscow session directly followed two days of U.S.-facilitated trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11, which re-engaged Russian and Ukrainian delegations. * Firm red lines remain: Discussions covered prisoner exchanges and border demarcation, while Moscow reaffirmed its strict opposition to foreign troop deployments anywhere on Ukrainian territory. * European diplomacy on notice: While European officials were briefed remotely, the envoys coordinated direct transit to Dublin to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on next steps.
The Number
— the duration of total diplomatic silence between direct Russian and Ukrainian delegations before the Abu Dhabi framework restored face-to-face negotiations.
Takeaway
As the U.S. envoys head to Dublin to debrief President Zelensky, expect early operational clarity on prisoner exchanges alongside protracted debates over permanent European security frameworks.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin began his meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow with US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, opening the talks by expressing thanks to US President Donald Trump, according to a report from RT Arabic.
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