Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Swap Gives Hope for New Results – Serbian President
/ Go to the mediabankRussia–Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul. May 16, 2025
/ Go to the mediabank
The discussion of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine at the talks in Istanbul gives hope for the beginning of dialogue and new results, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.The head of the Serbian state participated in the summit of the European Political Community in Tirana on Friday, from where he arrived in the Serbian city of Nis in the evening, where a meeting of the Movement for the People and the State initiated by him will begin on Saturday.”I saw what the talks in Istanbul resulted in. It is good that an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war was reached, 1,000 Russians and 1,000 Ukrainians will go home, this is the largest exchange so far. This is good news, it means they have started talking. It means that some other results will be achieved, too,” Vucic said on TV Pink from Nis.Aleksandar VucicSerbian PresidentAnalysisRussia-Ukraine Talks: Who Holds All the Cards and Who Badly Needs a Respite?Yesterday, 16:17 GMTRussian President Vladimir Putin previously suggested to Ukraine resuming direct talks without preconditions in Istanbul on May 15. The head of state did not rule out that the parties could reach a ceasefire agreement during the talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is committed to seriously searching for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement. He said the goals of the proposed talks with Ukraine are to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and ensure Russia’s interests.Talks between Russia and Ukraine were expected on Thursday. The Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul, but there were no contacts between representatives of the two countries that day.The Russia-Ukraine talks were held on Friday in Istanbul and lasted almost two hours. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation, announced a large-scale prisoner exchange – 1,000 for 1,000 – with Ukraine. He said Moscow and Kiev agreed to present their visions of a possible future ceasefire. During the talks, the Ukrainian side requested a meeting of the heads of state, and Russia took this into account. Medinsky also stated Russia’s readiness to continue negotiations with Ukraine.