US welcomes Ukraine-Russia prisoner exchange agreement

WASHINGTON, DC: United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and welcomed a prisoner exchange agreement reached during Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.

During his conversation on Saturday, he reiterated Trump’s message, stating, “The death and destruction must stop.”

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today. Secretary Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement reached during the May 16 Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul and delivered President Trump’s strong message: the United States is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war,” according to the US State Department.

In my phone call today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, I reiterated @POTUS‘s message: the death and destruction must stop. The U.S. has presented a strong peace plan and we welcome the Prisoner of War exchange agreement reached in Istanbul. Let’s not miss this huge…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 17, 2025

“The comprehensive peace plan proposed by the United States outlines the best way forward. The Secretary emphasised President Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the violence,” the statement added.
https://x.com/secrubio/status/1923766710752117048?s=46

“In my phone call today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, I reiterated @POTUS ‘s message: the death and destruction must stop,” Rubio also wrote on X.

“The US has presented a strong peace plan and we welcome the Prisoner of War exchange agreement reached in Istanbul. Let’s not miss this huge opportunity. The time for ending this war is now,” the post added.

Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump said that he will hold separate phone calls with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with an aim to stop the “bloodbath.”

“I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 am The subjects of the call will be stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade…,” Trump wrote on his social media ‘Truth Social’.

“I will then be speaking to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and then, with President Zelenskyy, various members of NATO. Hopefully, it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all!!!” he added.

According to a Turkish Foreign Ministry source quoted by the German news agency dpa, talks between Ukrainian and Russian diplomats took place in Istanbul on Friday. (ANI)