ISTANBUL: Russia and Ukraine held the third round of direct talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul. The parties agreed to exchange not only s...
ISTANBUL: Russia and Ukraine held the third round of direct talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
The parties agreed to exchange not only service members but also civilians, a source told TASS.
TASS has gathered the key information about the negotiations.
Meeting’s details
The talks between the two countries’ delegations kicked off at 8:37 p.m. local time (5:37 p.m. GMT) and lasted for about 40 minutes.
According to TRT Haber television, the negotiations had been scheduled for 7:00 p.m. However, the meeting between the delegations was delayed by more than an hour.
The talks were held in Russian.
Prior to the talks, the heads of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Vladimir Medinsky and Rustem Umerov, held a one-on-one meeting.
Agreements
Russia and Ukraine agreed to swap not only military servicemen but also civilians, a source told TASS.
There will be no continuation of the third round of Russia-Ukraine talks, the source said.
Moscow and Kiev are expected to make a decision on the fourth round of talks after all new agreements are implemented.
Agenda of talks
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ahead of the meeting that Moscow and Kiev would discuss the draft memorandums on resolving the conflict that they had exchanged earlier. In addition, the parties were also expected to touch upon further exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of dead soldiers.
Ukrainian delegation’s meetings
Before heading to Istanbul for talks with Russia, members of the Ukrainian delegations held a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the prospects for defense cooperation, Andrey Yermak, head of Vladimir Zelensky’s office, said. Besides, they also met with Akif Cagatay Kilic, senior advisor to the Turkish leader, and Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s foreign minister.
Delegation members
Russia’s negotiating team consists of four key members and four experts, a source told TASS. Peskov confirmed that the Russian delegation had not changed since the second round of talks.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Zelensky expanded Ukraine’s delegation from 12 to 14 members, adding a representative of the country’s human rights commissioner and an official from the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Russia’s delegation was led by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, and the Ukrainian delegation was headed by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov.
Previous rounds
The first round of direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev was held in Istanbul on May 16, with the parties agreeing to carry out a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap and exchange memorandums on ways to resolve the crisis.
Istanbul hosted the second round of talks on June 2. The parties exchanged draft memorandums on a peaceful settlement to the crisis and agreed to swap severely wounded troops and the bodies of dead soldiers.
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