Jake Sullivan. Photo: Getty Images

The White House says that negotiations with Russia on a prisoner exchange and any potential negotiations over the war in Ukraine are not related.

Source: Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to US President Joe Biden, at a briefing on 1 August, European Pravda reports

Details: When asked whether the prisoner exchange negotiations could lay some groundwork for diplomatic efforts in the context of the war in Ukraine, the Biden adviser stressed that the United States does not see a connection between the two.

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Quote: “We see those are operating on separate tracks. One is really about the practical issue of producing this exchange, and the other is a much more complex question where the Ukrainians will be in the lead and the United States will consult closely with all of our allies to support them when they are prepared to step forward and engage in that kind of diplomacy.”

Details: Ukraine has repeatedly insisted that it will not negotiate with Russia as long as it refuses to follow the Peace Formula based on the UN Charter.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side is seeking to involve a representative of the Russian Federation in the second Peace Summit. 

Background:

• On Thursday, Türkiye officially confirmed the exchange of 26 prisoners held in prisons in seven different countries: the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus.
• Among others, The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US Marine Paul Whelan, German citizen Rico Krieger, who was imprisoned in Belarus, and Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin were released.

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