Zelenskyy offers exchange of all prisoners as first step towards peace
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that the first step towards peace should be the exchange of all prisoners and that Ukraine was ready for a fair option — an exchange of all for all.
"Ending the war must begin with steps that restore trust in the situation itself. Because there is no trust in Russia itself," said Zelenskyy during a plenary session of "Support Ukraine" with European leaders in Kyiv.
According to him, in a situation where talks about ending the war take place, such a step could be the release of prisoners.
"Thousands. Thousands of people are being held in Russia. And some of them have been there not only since 2022 but even earlier, since 2014. Russia must release Ukrainians. Ukraine is ready for an exchange of all for all, and this is the fair option," Zelenskyy stated.
Talks about ending Russia's war against Ukraine intensified after Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections. The US already held one round of negotiations in Saudi Arabia last week, and another meeting is expected soon.
Meanwhile, Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, stated that his country would not cease hostilities against Ukraine during the negotiations.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed distrust of Vladimir Putin and his intentions. According to her, peace in Ukraine would be more dangerous than the current war.
