Trump's envoy Kellogg calls POW exchange most positive outcome of talks in Türkiye

Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, has commented on the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine on 23 May.

Source: European Pravda; Keith Kellogg on X (Twitter)

Details: Kellogg called the exchange "the most positive outcome of last week’s UKR-RU technical talks in Istanbul".

"The most positive outcome of last week’s UKR-RU technical talks in Istanbul: 1,000 soldiers per side set for repatriation, with 400+ already returned," Kellogg said.

The US special envoy also thanked Rustem Umierov, Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, for his significant contribution to this exchange.

"We need a ceasefire, and the killing needs to stop," Kellogg added.

Background:

• On 23 May, Trump announced that a large-scale prisoner exchange had been agreed between Russia and Ukraine. A short time later, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 390 people had been brought back to Ukraine during the first day of the exchange.
• This agreement was perhaps the only tangible outcome of the meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Türkiye, which took place on 16 May, the first such talks in Istanbul in over three years.
• It was reported that Russia had sent a low-level delegation led by Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky to the talks in Türkiye.
• The media also reported that the Russian delegation in Istanbul demanded that US representatives not be present at the talks with the Ukrainian side and put forward demands that are unrealistic and go far beyond what was previously discussed.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!