U.S. President Donald Trump has been clear that he aims to see direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 19 during a press briefing in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian and Russian delegations held direct talks for the first time since 2022 on May 16. They concluded without a breakthrough.
During the talks, Moscow demanded that Kyiv withdraw its troops from four partially occupied Ukrainian oblasts that Russia illegally claims as its own — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
"For Trump, the most important thing is direct talks between Ukraine and Russia," Zelensky said, adding that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Russian President Vladimir Putin's adviser, Vladimir Medinsky, held a call on May 19 and discussed a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange.
The exchange will happen "in the next days or weeks," and civilians will not be included in the list, according to Zelensky.
In the meantime, Ukraine also wants to discuss with Russia the release of Ukrainian political prisoners and journalists, the president added.
Speaking about a potential ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, Zelensky said Russia will deliver a memorandum with its proposals.
Zelensky added that during a call with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 19, he asked for three things: a ceasefire, the agility to present the Ukrainian view on the memorandum and for decisions "to be agreed on Ukraine without Ukraine."
Zelensky had a call with Trump before the latter was to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After speaking with Trump, Putin again refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire and said that Russia's position in the negotiations remains unchanged and requires "eliminating the root causes" of the war.
Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said following the phone call that there was "no timeline" for preparing a memorandum, Russian state-owned media TASS reported. "It’s clear that everyone wants to do this as quickly as possible, but of course, the devil is in the details," Peskov added.
Reacting to the Putin-Trump call, Zelensky stressed that Ukraine will not withdraw its troops from the partially Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, as the Russian delegation previously demanded in Istanbul.
Ukraine's president added that Kyiv is also exploring the possibility of a meeting with delegations from Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the EU in Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland.
Natalia Yermak
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