More swaps, but no deal Russia and Ukraine end third round of Istanbul talks without agreeing to ceasefire or leaders’ meeting
Russian and Ukrainian delegations held a third round of peace talks on July 23. The meeting, which took place behind closed doors in Istanbul, lasted less than an hour. Immediately after the negotiations, Russian and Ukrainian officials announced that another prisoner exchange had occurred. However, they clarified that this exchange had been negotiated during previous talks. Ultimately, Wednesday’s meeting yielded few results, aside from another agreement to exchange prisoners in the near future. That said, a potential leaders’ meeting and ceasefire terms were discussed. Here is what the heads of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations had to say about the negotiations.
Speaking at a press conference after Wednesday’s peace talks with Russia, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation, said that Ukraine had proposed holding a leaders’ summit before the end of August. According to Umerov, the proposed meeting would include President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Putin, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
However, Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation, quickly poured cold water on the idea. Commenting on the proposal, the Kremlin aide told journalists that for Putin and Zelensky to meet, the two sides would first have to agree on the terms of a settlement. “In fact, they shouldn’t discuss the agreement at this meeting but rather seal the deal and sign it,” he said.
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According to Medinsky, the two sides did in fact discuss their respective peace memorandums on Wednesday but weren’t able to find common ground. “[Our] positions are quite far apart from each other. However, we agreed to further engagement,” he said.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged peace memos as part of the last round of peace talks in Istanbul on June 2. Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Ankara is willing to help monitor a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
“Ukraine keeps insisting on a full and unconditional ceasefire as the necessary basis for effective diplomacy. We are ready for a ceasefire now and to start substantive peace negotiations, and it is up to the other side to accept this basic step towards peace,” Umerov told journalists after the meeting.
According to Medinsky, the Russian side proposed forming three working groups that would meet online to address political, humanitarian, and military issues. He also said that Russia had reiterated its previous proposal of holding “short humanitarian pauses” along the front line, lasting 24 to 48 hours, to allow the sides to evacuate wounded and fallen soldiers.
Regarding prisoner swaps, both Umerov and Medinsky stated that the delegations agreed to conduct a “humanitarian exchange” involving at least 1,200 people in the near future. Medinsky also said that Russia had offered to repatriate the bodies of another 3,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
“Regarding the exchanges of prisoners of war, we expect further progress. We continue to insist on the release of civilians, including children,” Umerov said during the press briefing.
During the last round of peace talks in Istanbul, Kyiv’s delegation gave their Russian counterparts a list of Ukrainian children deported to Russia during the war and demanded their return. “We’ve worked our way through the entire list of 339 Ukrainian children,” Medinsky said on Wednesday. “Some of the children have already been returned to Ukraine. Work is underway on the rest; if their legal parents, close relatives, or guardians are found, these children will be returned home immediately.”
Medinsky also claimed that Ukraine had failed to repatriate a number of Russian citizens evacuated during its incursion into the Kursk region. “There are not many of them, about 30 people, but they are still being held by Ukraine,” he said.
Immediately after the peace talks concluded on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that another prisoner swap had taken place. Although the Ministry did not specify the number of prisoners exchanged, it clarified that the swap was in accordance with the agreement reached during the June 2 peace talks.
President Zelensky subsequently confirmed the prisoner exchange, announcing the return of another group of seriously ill and injured soldiers to Ukraine. “Throughout all the stages of the latest Istanbul agreements, more than 1,000 of our people have been returned,” he said in a statement. “The soldiers returning today defended Ukraine on various fronts. A significant number were in captivity for more than three years. Everyone will receive the necessary support and medical care.”
