The Kremlin advisor, Vladimir Medinski, has described the First meeting in three years between the Russian delegation and its Ukrainian counterpartheld in Istanbul. The official was willing to continue the dialogue between the two countries, after which he described as a specific advance: a preliminary agreement for the exchange of 2,000 war prisoners, a thousand for each side, in an operation that could be realized in the near future.
“In general we are satisfied with the result and willing to continue contacts“The advisor said in a brief statement to the media, including the Russian agency Tass. Medinski has indicated that, if happening, the next meetings will consist of a detailed analysis of the respective proposals of Alto El Fuego and has also confirmed that the Ukrainian part has reiterated its call to direct conversations between the two leaders, Volodimir Zelenski and Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine has not yet pronounced on a continuation of public negotiations. The Ukrainian Defense Minister and Head of the Delegation, Rustem Uumerov, has limited himself to indicating that “right now he is working on several modalities” of conversation and there will be “exchanges of documents”, without giving more details. “The next step should consist of Organize a leaders meeting “between Putin and Zelenskiaccording to Umerov, who considered this possible encounter as the “next step” to take. “Ukraine wants peace,” said Umerov.
Intechambo of 2,000 prisoners of war
The only concrete result thrown so far is an agreement, confirmed by both Russia and Ukraine, to carry out a CAnje in the next days of 1,000 prisoners of war for each sideas Umerov advanced when leaving the meeting. Medinski expects the exchange to occur in the next few days while Umerov has in fact confirmed that “there is already a date” in this regard, which will keep in the secret.
The meeting has started shortly after a trilateral meeting between the delegations of Ukraine, Türkiye and the United States, one day after another meeting between representatives of Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
Zelenski and the main political leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland – Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk- have also held a telephone conversation with the United States president, Donald Trump, coinciding with the Istanbul reset of the direct conversations between kyiv and Moscow.
