MOSCOW: The agreements reached during the third round of talks between Moscow and Kiev on the exchange of civilians and the bodies of fall...
MOSCOW: The agreements reached during the third round of talks between Moscow and Kiev on the exchange of civilians and the bodies of fallen soldiers represent a positive outcome, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"The continuation of exchanges and the return of civilian bodies, who are essentially being held hostage, as well as the ongoing repatriation of the bodies of fallen soldiers, is an extremely important humanitarian matter that, in our view, should remain a priority. Nonetheless, this is a positive development," he said.
According to Peskov, Russia’s proposal to establish three working groups "capable of communicating online" also signals positive momentum.
"Online communication can be as intensive and regular as both sides are willing to maintain," he explained.
"We’ll see how much understanding these proposals can generate," Peskov added.
Istanbul talks
The third round of direct Russia-Ukraine talks on the Ukrainian settlement took place in Istanbul on July 23. Before a collective meeting, delegation heads Vladimir Medinsky and Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, held a one-on-one conversation. The collective meeting lasted about 40 minutes during which the sides discussed the positions outlined in draft memorandums.
Following the meeting, the sides agreed to exchange not only servicemen but also civilians. Russia proposed to Ukraine to create three online working groups for the resolution of political, military and humanitarian issues. Additionally, Moscow offered to return to the Kiev regime another 3,000 bodies of Ukrainian servicemen as well as to resume brief humanitarian pauses on the line of engagement in order to collect the wounded and the bodies of those killed.
The decision on a fourth round of the negotiations will be made once new agreements are put into effect, Medinsky said.
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