Ukraine, Russia hold low-level, non-political talks — Ukrainian ex-minister

Vadym Chernysh, former Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories (2016–2019) and a participant in negotiations with Russia within the Minsk Trilateral Contact Group, stated this in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.

“We are on the verge of real negotiations. Moreover, they are already taking place between the U.S. and Russia, as well as the U.S. and Ukraine. Directly between Russia and Ukraine, talks are happening at a low, non-political level, for example, regarding prisoner exchanges,” Chernysh said.

According to him, most people imagine negotiations as sitting at a table and talking. However, in reality, it looks different.

“For example, there are phone calls between Trump's and Putin's teams. Even before Trump was president, Musk was constantly calling the Kremlin. This is also part of the negotiations,” the former minister added.

• The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump suspended its peace plan for Ukraine in order to give NATO allies a seat at the negotiation table.