On Wednesday Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Russia is ready for tough negotiations with the U.S. over the war in Ukraine. The same day, prisoners of war were swapped between the governments of Moscow and Kiev, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“In light of the failure of this course and the change of administration, the first step toward normalizing bilateral relations – based on the principles of mutual respect and equality – should be taken by the United States,” Ryabkov said.
He also stated that rushing into the embrace of the new U.S. administration would be counterproductive. This is likely due to Russian negotiation strategy.
Trump himself is practicing a tough negotiation strategy. On January 21 the President threatened Russia with high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russian goods, should the country not concede to negotiations.
“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way,” Trump said on Truth Social January 22.
The groundwork for peace talks is underway. On Tuesday it was revealed that Trump is forcing Ukrainian ruler Vladimir Zelensky to hold peace talks with Russia. Not surprisingly however, Zelensky just wants nukes.
Word to the wise.
— Prodigal (@ProdigalThe3rd) February 4, 2025
Never give nukes & advanced weaponry to a corrupt cokehead that’s lost track of +$100B in US aid/arms/support
Ukrainian President Zelenksy:
"Give us… nuclear arms." https://t.co/bBlag6twbE pic.twitter.com/P5OOm9HZKp
On Wednesday the Russian Defense Ministry revealed that 150 prisoners of war were exchanged between the warring countries, a move that may be seen as preparation for peace negotiations.
“On February 5, 150 Russian service members were returned from the territories controlled by the Kiev regime as a result of negotiations,” the statement from the Russian military officials said.
Notably however, this was not the first prisoner swap of the war.
“A previous exchange saw the two sides release 25 prisoners each in mid-January. Prior to the new year, another 150 Russian and the same amount of Ukrainian captives returned to their respective countries,” RT said.
The Russian government credited the United Arab Emirates for organizing the prisoner swap.
“Reports suggested earlier that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been identified as potential venues for a summit between Trump and Putin. The two Middle Eastern nations have maintained neutrality throughout the conflict, engaging in dialogue with both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders,” RT said Thursday.