Arya News - As the second round of Ukraine peace talks in less than two weeks ran into a second day Russian and Ukraine negotiators said there had been progress.
Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Two days of talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States on bringing the conflict in Ukraine to an end were continuing on Thursday after some "positive progress" on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev said there had been forward movement in the negotiation process on a peace agreement with Ukraine in spite of blocking tactics by European countries, Russia"s state-run TASS news agency reported.
"The warmongers from Europe, from Britain, are 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," said Dmitriev.
Wednesday"s agenda included economic issues, the question of territory and a cease-fire mechanism, according to TASS.
Lead Ukrainian negotiator and national security and defense council head Rustem Umerov said the talks had been " substantive and productive , focused on concrete steps and practical solutions."
Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump"s special envoy, announced Thursday that the talks had yielded a deal between Moscow and Kyiv to exchange 314 prisoners, the first such swap since September.
"This outcome was achieved from peace talks that have been detailed and productive. While significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine."
"Discussions will continue, with additional progress anticipated in the coming weeks," he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned earlier against the negotiations being exploited by Russia to buy time to keep the war going and called for more pressure on Moscow from Ukraine"s international allies.
"It must be felt now. People in Ukraine must feel that the situation is genuinely moving toward peace and the end of the war, not toward Russia using everything to its advantage and continuing attacks," Zelensky said.
Ahead of the talks, the Kremlin stepped up pressure on Kyiv by saying the onus was on Kyiv to make the right "decisions," warning that Russian forces would continue fighting until such time.
On Wednesday, the European Council expedited legal clearance for a $105 billion Ukraine Support Loan to meet its urgent general budget and defense needs for 2026 and 2027, with Brussels scrambling to get it through the European Parliament in time to make the first payment early in the second quarter to prevent Kyiv running out of money.
The breakthrough came after Cyprus, the holder of the council"s rotating presidency, put forward a revised version of a deal agreed in December to tap international capital markets to raise the money to lend to Ukraine, instead of a so-called "reparations loan" option using frozen Russian assets.
The new version earmarks $35 billion for budgetary uses and $70 billion to support Ukraine"s defense industry and arms purchases, resolving disagreement over which overseas defense contractors get to sell to Ukraine by mandating that European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association firms must be used wherever possible.
Alternative suppliers can be used for orders that those countries cannot fulfill or in emergencies, including British and U.S. defense contractors.
With the exception of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which agreed to back the loan only if they were exempted from any liability, the arrangement will cost the remaining 24 EU countries at least $23 billion in interest alone through 2034,
"Today"s agreement shows that the EU continues to act decisively in support of Ukraine and its people. The new financing will help ensure the country"s fierce resilience in the face of Russian aggression. At the same time, we are sending a strong signal that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states must be fully respected, in accordance with international law. Together with the European Parliament, I look forward to finalizing the legal texts that will allow these loans to be disbursed," said Cypriot Finance Minister Makis Keravnos.