An agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine during their first direct peace talks since 2022 to conduct a large-scale prisoner swap is a “good move,” but it will take direct negotiations between the countries’ leaders and President Donald Trump to reach peace, William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, tells Newsmax.

“They’ve had a series of these prisoner swaps over time, but this is the largest, and that’s a good sign,” Taylor said on “Newsline” Friday. “One thousand for 1,000, that’s a lot of soldiers being reunited with their families.”

Still, for a ceasefire, there will need to be direct negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Trump “is going to be an important part of that,” said Taylor.

Read more at Newsmax© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.