Russia "satisfied" with talks in Türkiye, ready to continue, official says

Russia is satisfied with the results of the direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv held in Türkiye on May 16 and is ready to continue negotiations, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said.

Speaking in a video address after the meeting, Medinsky expressed cautious optimism about the dialogue’s progress, Caliber.Az reports. 

“Overall, we are satisfied with the outcome and are willing to continue contacts,” he said.

One of the key outcomes of the meeting was an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange.

“In the coming days there will be a large-scale exchange of prisoners — one thousand by one thousand people,” Medinsky stated.

He also noted that Ukraine had requested direct talks between the presidents of both countries, noting that Russian has taken “this request into account.”

Both delegations also agreed to formulate and submit their respective proposals for a future ceasefire. 

“We have agreed that each side will present its vision of a possible future ceasefire. It will spell it out in detail. After such a vision is presented, we believe it would be appropriate, also agreed, to continue our negotiations,” Medinsky added.

The direct talks between Russia and Ukraine were finally held in Istanbul after a day of confusions and delays. 

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the meeting by saying he was happy to see that the will of the two sides had opened up a new window of opportunity for peace.

“There are two paths today: One leads to peace, and the other will cause more destruction and loss of life. Both sides will choose which path to take,” Fidan told the negotiating teams.

Prior to the meeting, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who lead the negotiations on the Ukrainian side, has said that Kyiv is "ready for a full and unconditional ceasefire."

By Sabina Mammadli