Former U.S. Ambassador William Taylor discusses the latest Russia-Ukraine talks

NPR's A Martinez speaks with former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, about the ongoing peace talks between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine.

William Taylor has been listening along with us. He served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. Ambassador, so I know no major breakthroughs, but a prisoner swap. So is this an accomplishment, nonetheless?

WILLIAM TAYLOR: Not that great, A. Of course, it's good to have prisoners come back. That's always a good thing. But what they're really after is ending the war. They want a ceasefire. And they apparently made no progress toward that.

MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, one of the biggest sticking points in these negotiations is the role of Europe, or what role Europe may play in all of this going forward. Moscow doesn't want Europe involved. Meanwhile Europe is focusing on protecting the continent from Russian aggression, any future Russian aggression. So in your view, should Europe be involved somehow in these direct talks?

TAYLOR: Absolutely. Absolutely. Not only indirectly, they should be directly there. They should be at the table. As you say, this is about European security. But it's first about supporting Ukraine and allowing them to prevail. And the Europeans have been there, more so now, A, than the Americans. So the Europeans should definitely be there. They have a lot at stake, and they're a strong supporter of Ukraine.

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