The head of the Ukrainian delegation in the second round of Istanbul peace negotiations, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umarov said that Kyiv was ready to focus on certain categories in terms of the release of prisoners with Russia. He added that key issues between the two countries can only be resolved at the level of leaders.
Members of the delegation representing Ukraine spoke at a press conference following a trilateral meeting of Türkiye-Russia-Ukraine, organized in the Chhyragan Palace in Istanbul.
Minister Umerov said that the memorandum of the Ukrainian side was transferred to Russia a few days ago.
He said that at today’s negotiations, the Russian delegation introduced Ukraine to the ceasefire, adding that they would need a week to study the document. According to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, they will coordinate further steps.
Kyiv requires the release of all prisoners and Ukrainian children, the minister added.
Umarov emphasized that at the stage of liberation of prisoners, they are ready to focus on certain categories.
“On the issue of liberation of prisoners of war, we agreed to focus on specific categories, not numbers. We agreed to exchange everyone for all seriously wounded and seriously ill prunes. The second category is young soldiers who are from 18 to 25 years old. We also agreed to return 6 thousand bodies of dead soldiers (in exchange) for 6 thousand,” he said.
The Ukrainian side handed over to Russia a list of several hundred Ukrainian children whom he wants to return, and this issue is an extremely important priority for Kyiv, said Umarov. “If Russia is really committed to this peaceful process, then the return of at least half of these children will be considered as a positive indicator,” the minister explained.
Istanbul peace negotiations
Türkiye, which in May gathered delegations of the Russian Federation and Ukraine at the same table three years later, on June 2 organized negotiations in Istanbul.
The Russian delegation was presented by the assistant to the president Vladimir Medinsky. The Ukrainian side was led by Minister of Defense Rustem Umarov. The meeting was held in a closed format.
The first round of negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine took place on May 16 in the residence of Dolmabakhche in Istanbul.
According to the results of the first meeting, the parties agreed to conduct a large -scale exchange of prisoners according to the formula “1000 by 1000”, to imagine in detail their views on a possible ceasefire, and then continue negotiations.
Kyiv and Moscow previously reported that the exchange of prisoners, agreed in Istanbul, was completed on May 25.
, in the framework of diplomatic efforts to achieve the world, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan visited Moscow and Kyiv the day before, where he met with leaders and high -ranking officials of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.