Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul briefly discussed a prisoner exchange with Russia, but failed to agree on the terms of a ceasefire or a meeting of the heads of state, Reuters reports.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, said after the 40-minute meeting that there was progress on humanitarian issues, but no progress was made on an agreement to stop hostilities.
Ukraine has proposed a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin before the end of August, which, according to Umerov, would show that Russia is capable of acting constructively. In turn, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, has indicated that the meeting will be the conclusion of an agreement, not the start of discussions from scratch. Medinsky repeated Moscow’s call for a
short ceasefire of one or two days to allow the recovery of the fallen, but Ukraine wants a much longer and immediate ceasefire.
The talks on the 23rd of July came a week after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia and its allies if it does not reach a peace deal within 50 days. So far, there is no sign that this will happen.
Medinsky said that the negotiators have agreed to return the remains of at least 1,200 soldiers, and Russia has offered to return another 3,000. Moscow is also currently processing a list of 339 Ukrainian children it is accused of abducting. The Kremlin denies the charges and has said the children were taken out of Ukraine for protection. Umerov said he expected faster progress in the talks on prisoners of war, and Ukrainian authorities say at least 19,000 children have been illegally taken.
Even before the talks, the Kremlin reported that there would be no tangible progress, describing the parties’ demands as radically opposite.
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