Ukrainian minister hails prisoner exchange as result of peace talks

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has welcomed the agreed prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, following peace talks in Istanbul.

"If we set aside all the Russian nonsense, pseudo-historical statements, provocations and so on, what we are left with is this: 1,000 of our people — we managed to agree on their return," he wrote on Facebook on Friday evening.

"That is 1,000 happy families. Even for that alone, it was all worth it," he added.

Sybiha reiterated that the Russian negotiators did not have sufficient authority to participate in the talks, saying it was unfortunate the Russian President Vladimir Putin had sent people of such a low rank.

However, Ukraine would continue to push for an unconditional, permanent and complete ceasefire, he said.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations negotiated for the first time in more than three years on Friday. The only known outcome was an agreement that both sides would return 1,000 prisoners of war, the largest prisoner exchange since the start of the war.

No date for the swap was given, but Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said it should take place "in the near future."