Moscow [Russia], May 28: The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on May 27 that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump had reached an agreement to exchange prisoners.
Speaking to the press during a visit and work in Türkiye, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on May 27 that the two leaders of Russia and the US had agreed to exchange prisoners between the two countries, although Mr. Lavrov did not specify who would be released, NBC News reported.
The US State Department has not commented on the information. If confirmed by Washington, this would be the second prisoner exchange between Russia and the US in more than a month. The most recent exchange was when Moscow on April 10 released Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American serving a prison sentence for treason. In return, Washington released Russian citizen Arthur Petrov.
The Independent on May 27 quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russia and the US are negotiating a prisoner exchange, after President Putin and his counterpart Trump had a phone call on May 19 to discuss the exchange of nine prisoners on each side.
Also on May 27, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Donald Trump wants Russia and Ukraine to continue dialogue to reach an agreement to end the conflict between the two countries. "Trump is a person who wants results," Lavrov said, arguing that the US President's efforts to promote a peaceful solution are being sabotaged by Europe.
The UK and the European Union (EU) announced new sanctions against Russia last week. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that "it is time to increase pressure on Russia to implement the ceasefire".
Meanwhile, the Kremlin on May 26 issued a warning about the news that Europe was considering increasing the transfer of long-range missiles to Ukraine. Mr. Peskov stated that the EU's move goes against Moscow's desire to reach a political solution, according to Reuters.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
