The third round of renewed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has concluded in Istanbul, lasting under an hour, with both sides expressing cautious openness to further dialogue — though key differences remain.
Following the meeting on Wednesday, the head of Ukraine’s delegation said Kiev is ready to agree to a ceasefire immediately and proposed holding a summit of leaders by the end of August.
“We want a result-oriented process,” Andriy Yermak said, urging Russia to demonstrate a “constructive approach” going forward.
Ukraine also expressed hope for “further progress” on prisoners of war (POWs) exchanges, building on a recent agreement that included the return of 1,200 bodies of fallen soldiers.
Contact will continue
Russia’s lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said the two sides had agreed to maintain ongoing contact and that “all humanitarian agreements have been fulfilled.”
He also confirmed that a second large-scale swap of bodies had been completed and proposed handing over an additional 3,000 bodies to Ukraine.
Medinsky added that Moscow had proposed creating three online working groups to address political, military, and humanitarian issues and said discussions had also included the repatriation of detained civilians.
He noted that not all Russian civilians from the Kursk region have yet been returned and suggested swapping them for Ukrainian soldiers.
Asked about Ukraine's call for a meeting between presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, Medinsky said such a summit should only be used for signing documents, not for holding discussions.
Short-term ceasefires
Additionally, Russia proposed that Ukraine consider declaring multiple short-term ceasefires as part of confidence-building efforts.
Though brief, the Istanbul meeting marked another step in Türkiye’s efforts to mediate an end to the war, which is now in its fourth year.
Ankara’s diplomatic efforts
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had earlier expressed hope that the talks would yield “result-oriented consultations” and pave the way toward a broader ceasefire agreement.
Fidan emphasised that Türkiye has played an active diplomatic role since the beginning of the conflict, adding: “Türkiye has made intense efforts under President Erdogan's leadership since the beginning of this conflict.”
He said Ankara's goal was for the parties to build on previous dialogue and focus on concrete steps forward.
“Our goal is that parties will have result-oriented consultations on the memorandum,” he stated, referring to the documents exchanged in earlier rounds of talks that laid the groundwork for ceasefire proposals and humanitarian agreements.
“The ultimate goal,” he added, “is to build peace through a ceasefire.”
The previous round of talks in June led to a landmark agreement on repatriating the remains of fallen soldiers and prioritising severely wounded prisoners of war.
