Russia, Ukraine hold 3rd round of peace talks in Istanbul

ISTANBUL -- Russian and Ukrainian delegations held a third round of peace talks here on Wednesday evening at the Ciragan Palace, during which the two sides agreed on another prisoner exchange.

Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky and Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov led the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, respectively.

After the talks, Medinsky told reporters that Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war each.

Russia has returned the bodies of 7,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers and is ready to return 3,000 more, he said.

He also said that the Russian side proposed establishing three online working groups with Ukraine to address political, humanitarian, and military issues.

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not being considered until certain processes are completed, he added.

Following the talks, Zelensky wrote on social media platform X that the ninth stage of prisoner exchange took place "today," which involved more than 1,000 people from the Ukrainian side, including those "seriously ill and severely wounded."

"It is important that the exchanges are ongoing," he wrote.

In his opening remarks to the talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged the two delegations to engage in result-oriented negotiations aimed at achieving a ceasefire and ultimately ending the war.

"Our goal is to end this bloody war, which has come at a heavy cost, as soon as possible," Fidan said.

While the previous two rounds of talks in Istanbul — held on May 16 and June 2 — led to the exchange of thousands of war prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers, they produced little progress toward a ceasefire.