Kremlin: Putin-Zelenskyy meeting contingent on progress in peace talks

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to exchange lists of conditions for a potential ceasefire, and high-level diplomatic contacts may follow if both sides reach concrete agreements, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on May 17.

Speaking to reporters, Peskov confirmed that negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are ongoing, with the goal of achieving a broader settlement to the conflict, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“The work on resolving the conflict continues,” he said, noting that the recent talks have laid a foundation for further steps, including the possibility of a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

However, Peskov stressed that a meeting between the two leaders remains conditional. “A meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy is possible only if the delegations reach an agreement. That is the prerequisite,” he said.

A key issue for Moscow, according to the Kremlin spokesman, is who exactly from Kyiv will be authorised to sign any resulting documents. “For us, the main and principal issue remains who from the Ukrainian side will sign the documents agreed upon by the delegations,” he stated.

Peskov also referenced the recent Istanbul negotiations, where both sides agreed to pursue a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war. “The first thing to do is to fulfil the agreements reached in Istanbul, including a 1,000-by-1,000 prisoner exchange,” he said, adding that Russia would announce any decision regarding potential talks between President Putin and US President Donald Trump “in due time.”

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who led Ukraine’s delegation in the talks, confirmed on May 16 that both sides had agreed on a significant prisoner exchange on a 1,000-for-1,000 basis. Umerov said a date for the operation had already been set, though he declined to make it public. “We have agreed on the date, but I will not disclose it,” he told reporters, citing security concerns.

Umerov emphasised that he was acting under a direct mandate from President Zelenskyy to negotiate both the prisoner exchange and a ceasefire arrangement. “We spoke with our partners, and the aim of our negotiations was a ceasefire,” he said, adding that “all modalities” of such an arrangement were actively discussed during the talks.

He further revealed that preparations are underway for a potential face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin. “We are potentially preparing a meeting at the level of the two leaders,” Umerov stated. 

In parallel with the diplomatic efforts, Ukrainian authorities confirmed on May 16 the repatriation of the bodies of 909 fallen servicemen to territory under Kyiv’s control. According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the bodies were recovered from multiple locations, including combat zones in Kurakhove, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and other directions, as well as from Russian morgues.

The agency expressed its gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross for assisting in the recovery operation. The last exchange of remains between the two countries occurred on April 18, when 41 bodies were returned to Russia and 909 to Ukraine.

This latest round of talks and agreements comes after a series of prisoner swaps earlier this year. On May 6, both sides repatriated 205 soldiers in a major exchange brokered by the United Arab Emirates, marking the fifth such operation since the beginning of 2025.

By Tamilla Hasanova