Russia and Ukraine swap more prisoners after Istanbul talks
Russia and Ukraine exchanged more captured soldiers on Friday, June 20, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. The negotiations failed to make progress towards a ceasefire but both countries agreed to free more than 1,000 prisoners of war from each side – all wounded, ill or under 25 years old.
"A group of Russian servicemen was returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war was handed over," Russia's defense ministry said in a statement. An AFP reporter saw freed Ukrainian prisoners of war being greeted by tearful relatives after stepping off a bus.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said most of the Ukrainians freed in the swap had been in Russian captivity "for over two years." Neither side said how many soldiers had been freed in Friday's swap.
Moscow posted a video of Russian soldiers in military fatigues, chanting "Russia, Russia" with Russian flags draped over them. Zelensky shared images of Ukrainian soldiers, with shaved heads and in the blue-and-yellow national flag, weeping as they called relatives.
The two sides have carried out dozens of such exchanges since Russia invaded in 2022 in one of the only areas of dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv. Two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul have failed to result in a pause to the fighting. Russia has rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire, vowing to press on with its three-year invasion. It is demanding Kyiv cede more territory and give up on Western military support as a precondition to a truce.
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LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
Russia and Ukraine swap more prisoners after Istanbul talks
Russia and Ukraine exchanged more captured soldiers on Friday, June 20, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. The negotiations failed to make progress towards a ceasefire but both countries agreed to free more than 1,000 prisoners of war from each side – all wounded, ill or under 25 years old. "A group of Russian servicemen was returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war was handed over," Russia's defense ministry said in a statement. An AFP reporter saw freed Ukrainian prisoners of war being greeted by tearful relatives after stepping off a bus. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said most of the Ukrainians freed in the swap had been in Russian captivity "for over two years." Neither side said how many soldiers had been freed in Friday's swap. Moscow posted a video of Russian soldiers in military fatigues, chanting "Russia, Russia" with Russian flags draped over them. Zelensky shared images of Ukrainian soldiers, with shaved heads and in the blue-and-yellow national flag, weeping as they called relatives. The two sides have carried out dozens of such exchanges since Russia invaded in 2022 in one of the only areas of dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv. Two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul have failed to result in a pause to the fighting. Russia has rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire, vowing to press on with its three-year invasion. It is demanding Kyiv cede more territory and give up on Western military support as a precondition to a truce.
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
Meeting between top EU diplomats and Iran's FM yields hope of talks
A meeting between top European diplomats and Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Friday yielded hopes of further talks but no indication of any immediate or concrete breakthrough, a week after Israel attacked Iran over Tehran's nuclear program, erupting into war between both sides. Foreign ministers from Britain, France, and Germany and the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, emerged from the talks at a Geneva hotel nearly four hours after Iran's Araghchi arrived for the meeting. It was the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict. In a joint written statement issued after the talks ended, the three European nations and the EU said that they 'discussed avenues towards a negotiated solution to Iran's nuclear programme.' They reiterated their concerns about the 'expansion' of the nuclear program, adding that it has 'no credible civilian purpose.' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, 'We agreed that we will discuss nuclear but also broader issues that we have and keep the discussions open." 'The good result today is that we leave the room with the impression that the Iranian side is fundamentally ready to continue talking about all important issues,' German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, adding both sides had held 'very serious talks.' While France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters, military operations can slow Iran's nuclear program, but in no way can they eliminate it. 'We know well—after having seen what happened in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in Libya—how illusory and dangerous it is to want to impose regime change from outside.' Barrot also said that European nations 'invited the Iranian minister to envisage negotiations with all parties, including the United States, and without waiting for the end of the strikes." However promising, Iran ruled out new nuclear talks until attacks from Israel stop. According to Araghchi, Iran was ready to consider diplomacy only if Israel's "aggression is stopped." "I make it crystal clear that Iran's defence capabilities are non-negotiable," the Iranian foreign minister stressed after the Geneva talks. He expressed support for 'a continuation of discussions with the E3 and the EU and expressed his readiness to meet again in the near future.' He also denounced Israel's attacks against nuclear facilities in Iran and expressed 'grave concern' about what he called 'non-condemnation' by European nations. For his part, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged Tehran to continue its talks with the United States. Lammy said, 'We are keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States.' He added that 'we were clear: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.' He added there is 'a window of within two weeks where we can see a diplomatic solution' and urged Iran 'to take that off-ramp.' Trump delays decision Meanwhile, it remains unclear how that will happen as US President Donald Trump continues to weigh whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. Trump said on Wednesday that he'll decide within two weeks whether the US military will get directly involved in the war, given the 'substantial chance' for renewed negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. Israel says it launched its airstrike campaign to stop Iran from getting closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon. Iran and the United States had been negotiating over the possibility of a new diplomatic deal over Tehran's programme, though Trump has said Israel's campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks. 'We are entitled … to defend our territorial integrity' - Iran In light of the possibility of US involvement, Iran's supreme leader rejected Trump's calls for surrender Wednesday and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause 'irreparable damage to them.' Just before meeting the European diplomats on Friday, Foreign Minister Araghchi made a brief appearance before the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, telling the council that Israel's 'attacks on nuclear facilities are grave war crimes'. Araghchi insisted that Iran is "entitled … and determined to defend our territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and security with all force.' Tehran has long insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, though it was the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The initial 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers was negotiated in large part by the three European nations. However, Iran has been found wanting in its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, leading to warnings by the EU states to reimpose sanctions that were suspended under the agreement.
LeMonde
9 hours ago
- LeMonde
US judge orders release of pro-Palestinian Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday, June 20, to release Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student who became a leader of pro-Palestinian campus protests. Khalil, a legal permanent US resident who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, has been in custody since March facing potential deportation. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ordered Khalil's release on bail during a hearing on Friday, according to a court order seen by AFP. Since his March 8 arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Khalil has become a symbol of President Donald Trump's campaign to stifle pro-Palestinian student activism against the Gaza war, in the name of curbing anti-Semitism. At the time a graduate student at Columbia University in New York, Khalil was one of the most visible leaders of nationwide campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza. Following his arrest, US authorities transferred Khalil, who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) from his home in New York to a detention center in Louisiana, pending deportation. His wife Noor Abdalla, a Michigan-born dentist, gave birth to their son while Khalil was in detention. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invoked a law approved during the 1950s Red Scare that allows the United States to remove foreigners seen as adverse to US foreign policy. Rubio argues that US constitutional protections of free speech do not apply to foreigners and that he alone can make decisions without judicial review. Hundreds of students have seen their visas revoked, with some saying they were targeted for everything from writing opinion articles to minor arrest records. Farbiarz ruled last week that the government could not detain or deport Khalil based on Rubio's assertions that his presence on US soil poses a national security threat. The government has also alleged as grounds to detain and deport Khalil that there were inaccuracies in his application for permanent residency.
