Representatives of Russia and Ukraine met in the United Arab Emirates to discuss the possibility of exchanging prisoners of war and resuming the export of Russian ammonia through a Ukrainian pipeline.
This was reported to Reuters by sources familiar with information about the meeting.
According to their data, the negotiations took place with the mediation of the UAE, but without the participation of the UN. On November 17, in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, representatives of Ukraine and Russia discussed the resumption of ammonia exports from the Russian Federation under the condition of a large-scale exchange of prisoners.
The sources did not tell Reuters about the outcome of the talks.
Ukraineʼs ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, said that “the release of our prisoners of war is part of the negotiations on the opening of Russian ammonia exports,” adding that “of course, we are looking for ways to do this whenever possible.”
Bodnar said he did not know if the meeting took place in the UAE.
- The United Nations has proposed resuming the export of Russian ammonia through a pipeline to the Ukrainian border, where it is to be bought by the American commodity trader Trammo. This pipeline is designed to pump up to 2.5 million tons of ammonia per year. It was closed after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine on February 24.
- On September 16, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that he would support the resumption of Russian ammonia exports through Ukraine if Moscow returns Ukrainian prisoners of war to Kyiv. “I am against the supply of ammonia from the Russian Federation through our territory. I would do it only in exchange for our prisoners. This is what I proposed to the UN,” the president said.