«None of the players are talking about it»: Zelenskyy says prisoner exchange should be discussed during talks

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the negotiations «none of the players» raised the issue of the return of prisoners of war.

He said this during a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to NikVesti.

«None of the players who are negotiating today or asking questions about how the ceasefire may end or what the conditions for a truce are, are talking about the return of prisoners. The situation itself speaks for itself. The war in the Middle East. People always say, no matter who the enemies are, that people, ordinary people, should return home. Why say these unnecessary words that people should not die when we need to bring back thousands of people who are in captivity today? And if there is really goodwill to end this war, I don't believe that Putin (Vladimir Putin, Russian President, — note) wants this, but if there is goodwill, then there is definitely an exchange of prisoners, first of all», Zelensky said.

Prisoner exchange on 5 February

On Wednesday, 5 February, Ukraine returned 150 defenders home after being held in Russian captivity.

According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Navy, which was captured in Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia region, was returned. The Air Force, Air Assault and Land Forces, National Guard, border guards, terrorist fighters, and a police officer have also been returned.

In particular, 25 Mykolaiv marines defending Mariupol were released from Russian captivity.

Peace talks

Earlier, Donald Trump stated that the United States was conducting constructive negotiations on a full-scale war with Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In particular, he expressed hope that agreements would be reached as soon as possible.

He also claimed that Washington had already made some progress in negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In addition, Donald Trump indicated that his administration had already held discussions with Moscow, but did not specify who participated in such a dialogue. Also, during his phone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump never said that Europe needs a seat at the table in negotiations on Ukraine.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that negotiations between the United States and Russia to end the war without Kyiv's participation pose a threat to everyone.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that he was ready to sit down with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the sake of peace, despite his hostile attitude. He also added that he did not see a ready-made peace plan from Trump, but conveyed his readiness to negotiate.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to «allocate people» to negotiate with Ukraine to end the war. At the same time, he called any such talks «illegitimate».