Reuters
Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to hold new peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky said.
“Today, I discussed preparations for the prisoner exchange with Rustem Umerov (head of the Ukrainian Security Council), and another meeting in Turkey with the Russian side,” Zelensky said in a daily speech on Monday. “Umerov reported that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.”
Zelensky proposed new talks over the weekend a few days after President Donald Trump threatened Russia with “severe” sanctions if there was no ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev within 50 days.
Washington also pledged new weapons for the Ukrainian army after Russia intensified its attack.
Moscow has not commented on peace talks yet. Russian RIA news agency cited sources, saying the meeting will be held over two days, Thursday and Friday.
A Turkish government spokesperson said Wednesday consultations will take place in Istanbul. Istanbul is the same venue where previous negotiations in May and June had not been working towards a ceasefire, the French Press Agency reported.
This week’s speech is yet another attempt to end a war that has been going on for over three years, and will come after Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with Vladimir Putin. The US president told the BBC that he was “disappointed” but “not done” with the Russian leader.
The Istanbul consultations could focus on further prisoner interactions and the possibility of meetings between Zelensky and Putin, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.
However, Moscow is underestimating the possibility of reaching concrete results soon.
Commenting on the breakthrough outlook, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the two sides are “the opposite” and “many diplomatic work is ahead.”
Russia has in recent weeks stepped up drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, causing record civilian casualties. In 2022, we began a full-scale invasion of our neighbors.
