Ukraine and Russia are in talks about a large-scale prisoner exchange, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
Zelensky added, during a press conference in Denmark, that the possible exchange could include between 1,000 and 1,500 prisoners of war. Zelensky is visiting Denmark to hold talks with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and other leaders from the Nordic countries.
Zelensky wrote on the X platform: “We had a detailed discussion about diplomacy and preparations for the next steps, and I informed them about today’s (Tuesday) negotiations in Abu Dhabi.” He added: “Our common position is clear: Europe must certainly be present at the negotiating table.”
He explained that he was very happy with the messages received from the United States regarding the progress made towards reaching a settlement to the war that has been going on with Russia for more than four and a half years.
This came in statements made by Zelensky to reporters after a day of talks with leaders of the Nordic countries in Denmark, at a time when the first day of tripartite talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States was concluded in Abu Dhabi, led by Washington.
Zelensky said, in response to a question about the messages he received from US presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff: “I see changes. “I am very happy with what I hear.”
Zelensky is keen to calm the often tense relations with US President Donald Trump, especially after a meeting held in the Oval Office in February 2025, during which Trump accused him of being ungrateful.
The talks hosted by Abu Dhabi are the first tripartite discussions held since February. Zelensky described the first day as constructive and objective.
Later, in his latest statements, Zelensky said that the agenda of the Abu Dhabi talks included formulating a new security architecture for Europe, an idea raised by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier in the day.
Zelensky said the idea was “very difficult.” He added: “We are all very cautious about this topic because no one really understands 100 percent what they want. “I think we understand, but no one has seen the documents and what the Americans discussed with the Russians.”
He added that the idea was first proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2021, and that the administration of then US President Joe Biden was cautious about it, because the sequence of steps that must be taken first is important.
“Everyone is ready for dialogue,” Zelensky said. First, stop the war in Ukraine. Secondly, security guarantees for Ukraine. Third, perhaps some dialogue on the issue of security in Europe, and in the world.” He continued: “This sequence is very, very important in this case.”
Earlier, Lavrov said that Moscow would not agree to an immediate ceasefire without knowing what would happen next.
He added that it would be wise to discuss the broad outlines of the future security architecture in Europe first, and then a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Yesterday (Tuesday), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the first day of the discussions that began between Russia and Ukraine, under American sponsorship in Abu Dhabi, was constructive.
Rubio said at the conclusion of a ministerial meeting of the Group of Seven countries in Paris that the first day was “very productive,” with “a lot of work remaining.” He added: “Our goal is for this tripartite formula to be expanded, and not only relate to the United States, Ukraine, and Russia, but also to the Europeans... because they are part of the solution to this problem in the long term.”
The Russian side refused the participation of European countries in direct discussions, but the presence of European representatives outside the negotiating hall reflected its keenness to continue coordinating positions with Kiev.
For his part, US President Donald Trump anticipated this round of discussions by asserting that the Ukraine war would end soon. He said: “I believe that we will be able to end the war, and I believe that this will happen, and that Ukraine will end up with somewhat different geographical borders.”
Representatives of the United States and the European parties announced in a joint statement yesterday that any agreement should guarantee the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
