Talks in Istanbul: Kyiv and Moscow agree on a large prisoner exchange

At the start of their direct discussions about a possible end of the war, Russia and Ukraine have agreed a great exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war each. This was confirmed by Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinski and the Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umjerow. A precise time was not mentioned. However, the exchange should be “in the near future”, said Umjerow.

It would be the largest prisoner exchange since the beginning of the war. In addition, the agreed exchange has so far been the only known result of the conversation in Istanbul.

Meeting lasted around an hour and a half

Previously, representatives of Moscow and Kiev had spoken almost an hour and a half about a possible end of the war under Turkish mediation. It was the first direct discussions since 2022. A time for the continuation of the talks was not mentioned by the representatives of the conflict parties. The two delegations left the building in Istanbul in the afternoon.

Medinski was then satisfied with the discussion round. “After the parties have presented a concept for a ceasefire, we consider it appropriate to continue our negotiations,” the consultant was quoted by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin by the Russian state agencies.

The start of the talks was actually expected for Thursday. Despite Turkish mediation, the two sides did not come together in the end. The absence of Kremlin chief Putin had already made the hopes for significant results of the negotiations on Wednesday.

Selenskyj regrets missed peace for peace

According to the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj, Ukraine and Russia missed a peace solution. “We had a real chance this week to move to the end of the war- if Putin hadn’t been afraid of coming to Turkey,” Selenskyj wrote on platform X from the edge of a summit of European State and Prime Minister in Albania. He himself was ready for a direct meeting with the Kremlin boss to clear out the most important questions. “But he didn’t agree.”

Selenskyj publicly asked Putin for a personal meeting in Istanbul last weekend. Putin had not answered this and instead sent a lower -ranking delegation to talks to Turkey.