The prisoner exchange, the first stage of which took place today, is the “only significant result of the meeting in Turkey,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 23. He emphasized that all other efforts by the Russian side are being blocked and called for more decisive actions.
This is reported by Київ24
Zelensky’s statement on the situation regarding the memorandum
“I am grateful to everyone and to our entire team involved in the implementation of the exchange. And I must thank all our warriors on the front lines who are providing reinforcements for Ukraine through the exchange fund. I also want to thank our law enforcement officers today for adding Russian saboteurs and collaborators to the exchange fund,” he said.
Zelensky stressed the importance of a ceasefire and diplomatic steps towards sustainable peace. According to him, Ukraine is uniting partners to create a new and effective security architecture.
The threat from Russia and international reaction
“And it is definitely time to put more pressure on Russia so that the result is not just one, but everything that is needed. And when the Russians have already spent a week formulating the so-called ‘memorandum’ they want to respond to the need for a ceasefire, this is indeed mockery of the whole world. So much time! Every day in war is a loss of lives. Of course, in Russia, people are not counted. But the world must count,” Zelensky emphasized.
At the same time, he called for new sanctions against the Russian Federation and thanked everyone who supports them. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reported on May 23 that the timing and location of the next meeting between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine have not yet been determined, but according to him, work on the memorandum with Kyiv is at an “advanced stage” on Moscow’s part.
Prior to this, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed the opinion that Russia is not showing a desire to conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine.