Frank Sotzik

Today we achieved an important humanitarian breakthrough, with Ukraine and Russia agreeing in principle to what will be the largest prisoner exchange of the war. This will reunite families, build trust, and create momentum toward peace. Bringing Ukraine and Russia back together for the first trilateral talks since February was an important step. The discussions were serious, detailed, and frank. Both countries shared specific ideas to narrow the gaps and find a path to end the war. In close coordination with Ukraine and our European partners, we have aligned on proposals we will discuss with President Putin in Moscow tomorrow, followed by consultations with President Zelenskyy. President @realDonaldTrump is determined to end this horrible war. Significant differences remain, but we are committed to building on the progress made and advancing toward broader multilateral negotiations that can deliver lasting peace and a sovereign, secure, and prosperous Ukraine.

🇷🇺🇺🇸 A meeting is underway at the Kremlin between President of Russia Vladimir #Putin, US Presidential Special Envoy Steve #Witkoff & entrepreneur Jared #Kushner.

Today concluded three days of intense diplomacy aimed at ending the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine. Following detailed trilateral negotiations with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi, we traveled to Moscow for direct discussions with President Putin, then to Dublin to meet with President Zelenskyy. We concluded the day consulting with National Security Advisors from Ukraine, Germany, Italy, EU, France, Ireland, and Poland. A tremendous amount of work has gone into restarting direct negotiations after many months. We have made meaningful progress in understanding both sides’ concerns, identifying possible solutions, and establishing a path forward. Both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners. This will allow us to address the broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia. A lasting end to the fighting requires credible security guarantees, deconfliction mechanisms, and reciprocal de-escalation commitments that reduce the risk of future conflict. We agreed with President Zelenskyy to remain in close contact with him and his team, and reaffirmed that no broader European security arrangements will be finalized without addressing Ukraine’s security concerns. We will begin discussing these interconnected issues in parallel, with the understanding that, apart from humanitarian measures, nothing will be finalized until a comprehensive agreement is reached. We are also working toward what would be the largest prisoner exchange of the war, potentially reuniting thousands of people with their families. Many people’s lives have been devastated by this war and we hope both sides will demonstrate the good will and seriousness necessary to complete this important step. We expect to announce the negotiating tracks, schedule, and additional details shortly. President Trump is determined to end this horrible war. Significant differences remain, but we are encouraged by the progress made. We will undertake whatever hard diplomatic work is necessary to find a breakthrough that ends the fighting and creates the foundation for lasting peace, a sovereign, secure, and prosperous Ukraine, and a more stable Europe.