Russia Expects To Agree On Date Next Week For Third Round Of Ukraine Peace Talks: Kremlin
Russia expects to agree with Ukraine next week on a date for a third round of peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday said that Russia expects to agree with Ukraine next week on a date for a third round of peace talks. He added that Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation, is in contact with his Ukrainian counterpart to arrange the meeting.
Following a pause of more than three years, the two sides resumed direct talks in Istanbul on 16 May and 2 June. While the discussions resulted in several prisoner exchanges and the return of fallen soldiers’ bodies, they yielded no progress towards a ceasefire.
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Ukraine, backed by Western allies, has been pushing for an immediate end to hostilities. However, Russia insists it wants a lasting settlement, not just a temporary pause in fighting. Moscow has laid out territorial and political demands that Kyiv says would amount to surrender.
Two rounds of talks in Istanbul have so far failed to halt the conflict. Russia has rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and says it will continue its invasion, now in its third year. Moscow is demanding that Ukraine give up more territory and abandon Western military support as conditions for any truce.
Fighting has intensified in recent weeks. Russia launched some of its most intense air strikes of the war, while Ukraine carried out surprise drone attacks on Russian airfields on 1 June, reportedly damaging part of Russia’s nuclear-capable bomber fleet.
Another Prisoner Swap
In a separate development on Friday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged captured soldiers—part of a series of prisoner swaps agreed during earlier talks in Istanbul. Although the talks have not led to a ceasefire, both countries agreed to release over 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, all of whom were either wounded, ill, or under the age of 25.
“A group of Russian servicemen was returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war was handed over," Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said many of the returned Ukrainian soldiers had been in captivity for over two years. Neither side disclosed the exact number of prisoners freed in Friday’s exchange.
(With inputs from agencies)
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