Topics included news about POW exchanges, and various possible venues for follow-up talks, but the President held firm that Ukraine will not “withdraw our troops from our own territory.”
by John Moretti
May 20, 2025
Kyiv Post
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he asked Donald Trump not to make decisions about Ukraine “without us” before the US president held a call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. “I asked him not to make any decisions about Ukraine without us before his conversation with Putin,” Zelensky told a briefing room. “These are matters of principle for us and very important.”
Zelensky spoke to Trump twice on Monday, once shortly before the US president spoke with Putin, and once afterward. He told reporters about his calls with Trump and his team’s calls with the Russian delegation. In sum, Zelensky reported that the two sides will be exchanging prisoners soon, that various venues, not just the Vatican, are being considered for follow-up talks. But most of all, he stressed that in any ceasefire, Ukraine won’t be withdrawing its troops from contested territory.
Zelensky said that, out of discussions in Turkey between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, the two sides will exchange prisoners of war in a 1,000-for-1,000 deal. “Today, we are talking about the exchange of prisoners of war,” Zelensky told the briefing room. “There have also been signals from our side concerning political prisoners and journalists. I don’t want to go into details now, exchanging children for soldiers, for example; to be honest, we do not support that approach. Children should be returned unconditionally. This [exchanging children for military personnel] is unfair and outside the bounds of both law and the laws of war,” he said.
The President said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, along with representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine and intelligence agencies, are handling that part of the process. “I believe that in the coming days or weeks, we’ll see concrete results. The details and dates are already being discussed,” Zelensky said.
On May 17, state media Ukrinform reported that the Joint Center for Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners under the Security Service of Ukraine had begun preparatory steps for a potential 1,000-for-1,000 exchange.
Zelensky then moved on to where the next round of talks would be held. According to the White House, the Vatican has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. The Ukrainian president, who participated in the new pontiff’s first state visit, said the options were still open after speaking with Trump. “We are considering Istanbul, the Vatican, Geneva, or another city in Switzerland as a potential venue for the meeting. We are not choosing an alternative over our Turkish colleagues — we are approaching this from the standpoint of results. The host country must be capable of ensuring and organizing the appropriate level of delegation presence. We want whichever platform is selected to be able to offer the highest level of participation possible, the highest-level technical teams. If we are ready for a leaders’ summit, then [we should have] real decision-makers. Only based on these criteria will we consider and make our choice,” Zelensky said.
Putin announced at the last minute that he would not participate in the talks in Turkey. In the briefing room, Zelensky again thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for organizing the meeting at the end of last week.
Finally, Zelensky said, Ukraine will not agree to any conditions requiring its armed forces to withdraw from Ukrainian soil. “No one will withdraw our troops from our own territory. That is my constitutional duty. It is the duty of our military to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Yes, some areas are temporarily occupied due to the aggression of a much larger country — that is clear. But there will be no ultimatums, and no one will surrender our land, our territory, our people, or our homes,” Zelensky said. He added that if Russia demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Ukrainian land, it means Moscow is not genuinely seeking an end to the war. “If you’re asking questions in advance, knowing the answer will be negative, then it’s clear you’re not truly seeking a [resolution],” Zelensky said.
“As for what we just discussed with the US president, he believes that Russia is ready for negotiations and willing to compromise, and so on. I don’t remember all the details, but still, we’ll see.”
John Moretti is an author, editor and correspondent for Kyiv Post based in North America. His academic background is in Eastern European economics, international public policy and counterterrorism.