The third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine has concluded in the Turkish capital. The parties agreed to continue the exchange of prisoners and discussed the possibility of high-level dialogue. This was reported by RIA Novosti.
The negotiations took place at the Çırağan Palace with Turkey acting as mediator. Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov held closed consultations.
After that, Medinsky came out to the journalists and said that all the humanitarian agreements reached at the previous meeting had been fulfilled. The last prisoner exchange, with a ratio of 250 to 250, was completed during the closed-door talks. Now they’re talking about exchanging 1,200 people from each side. Russia is also ready to transfer the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to Ukraine through the Red Cross.
At the same time, Ukraine is still holding 30 people who were taken from the Kursk region without explanation. Moscow has asked Kiev to clarify their status, Medinsky said.
Russia has completed its review of the list of Ukrainian children provided by Kiev. It turned out that many of them had never been to Russia, and 50 were found to be of legal age. The rest are under the control of the Russian Federation and are provided with everything they need. Moscow has demanded the return of Russian children in Ukraine and the EU, as well as ensuring that they are provided with the same level of care.
The parties discussed the possibility of short-term truces for the evacuation of the dead. Russia proposed the creation of three working groups on political, humanitarian, and military issues. The Ukrainian delegation promised to consider this proposal.
A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is possible, but only after careful preparation. And it should “put an end” to the negotiation process, Medinsky concluded.
Earlier, British geopolitical analyst Alexander Mercouris said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy cannot refuse negotiations because he is under pressure from the US.
