Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow is ready to hold the next round of peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday in Minsk, Belarus, Putin said the date of the third round of the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul will be determined after completing the war prisoner exchanges, negotiated in Türkiye on June 2.

"In general, we are ready for this (next round of talks), we need to coordinate the place and time. I hope that the president of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, remains in his position to support this process, and we are very grateful to him for this," he said.

The dates of the next Russian-Ukrainian meeting will be defined by the head of the negotiation teams, he added.

"We are ready to hold such a meeting in Istanbul. But when specifically, these are the group leaders from both sides, and they are in constant contact, they are now agreeing on the time of the meeting," he said.

Putin added that in his opinion, the teams should discuss memoranda on a peace treaty.

Promoting diplomacy

Istanbul previously hosted a series of talks in March 2022 – just after the conflict began – aimed at finding common ground to end the armed conflict, but failed to reach a settlement to the war, which is now in its fourth year.

On May 16, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in three years again in the Turkish metropolis.

After two rounds of negotiations in May and June, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange more prisoners of war — focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded — and return the bodies of 12,000 soldiers that have been killed in the armed conflict.

Turkish President, a longtime champion of resolving the conflict, has repeatedly offered for Türkiye to host peace talks and do whatever it can to promote a resolution.

Türkiye has the distinction of enjoying good relations with both Russia and Ukraine.