24 Jul 2025 05:52AM (Updated: 24 Jul 2025 06:34AM)
ISTANBUL: Ukraine on Wednesday (Jul 23) called for direct talks between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin by the end of August, even as Russia downplayed the chances of a breakthrough in the latest round of negotiations held in Istanbul.
Speaking to reporters after the talks, Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said Kyiv had proposed a leaders’ summit involving both presidents, as well as US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Priority number one is to organise the meeting of the leaders, of presidents,” Umerov said.
Russia’s lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said the parties held lengthy discussions but remained far apart on key issues. “The positions are quite distant. We agreed to continue contacts,” he told reporters.
Medinsky said both sides had agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war and that Russia had offered to return the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers. He also proposed temporary ceasefires lasting 24 to 48 hours to allow the recovery of dead and wounded soldiers.
TURKEY URGES CEASEFIRE, US SETS DEADLINE
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who opened the talks, urged the delegations to move toward a ceasefire.
“Our aim is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible,” he said. “The ultimate goal is a ceasefire that will pave the way for peace.”
The talks follow earlier meetings in Istanbul in May and June, which yielded agreements on prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of soldiers’ remains.
The latest negotiations come as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Russia. Last week, Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to end the war or face additional sanctions.
Despite the ultimatum, the Kremlin signalled no change in stance. “No one expects an easy road. It will be very difficult,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
A Ukrainian delegation source told AFP before the talks that progress would depend on whether Russia adopted a more constructive approach. “Everything will depend on whether Russia stops speaking in ultimatums,” the source said.
Russia has so far insisted Ukraine withdraw from four eastern and southern regions it claims to have annexed in 2022, a demand Kyiv rejects as non-negotiable. Ukraine has also ruled out any territorial concessions, including Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.
WAR CONTINUES AS TALKS STALL
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, has killed tens of thousands and devastated large areas of the country. Despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts, fighting has intensified in recent weeks.
Between late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russian forces launched 71 drones across four regions of Ukraine, according to Kyiv’s air force.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed to have captured the village of Varachyne in northern Sumy region, where Moscow has been steadily advancing.
Zelenskyy said a Russian drone attack earlier in the day knocked out power to over 220,000 residents in Sumy.
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