Todd Bishop
A spokesman for the Russian presidential palace said on Thursday that President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held their first telephone talks to discuss the settlement of disputes between the two countries in eastern Ukraine and the exchange of prisoners.
The spokesman said that the talks were proposed by the Kiev side and the two sides discussed the possibility of continuing to contact the “Normandy format” in which France and Germany participated together.
Zelensky, a “new political man,” won the presidential election in April. One of his platforms was to deal with the ceasefire between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian armed groups. On Sunday (7th), he expressed his intention to discuss the peace agreement with Russia with the support of European countries and asked Moscow to release the prisoners including 24 Ukrainian officers and men.
Russia annexed the Crimea in 2014, causing clashes between the two countries in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 10,000 people so far.
