Topics discussed during Istanbul talks revealed

Russian and Ukrainian delegations have discussed ceasefire options, a prisoner exchange and a potential follow-up meeting, Moscow’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, has said.

Moscow is “satisfied” with the results of the Istanbul talks and is ready to “resume contacts” with Kiev, the head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, has said. The sides have agreed upon a major prisoner exchange and discussed ways to reach a potential ceasefire, he has told journalists following the meeting on Friday.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to swap 1,000 POWs each “in the coming days,” Medinsky announced. An exchange of such magnitude would be the biggest since the escalation of the conflict in 2022.

Kiev has also requested a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, the official stated, adding that Moscow has taken the request “into consideration.”

The two sides have agreed to work out detailed ceasefire proposals and present them, according to Medinsky. “Once those concepts are presented, it would be reasonable to continue our talks,” he said, adding that there is already a relevant agreement between the two sides on the issue.

A similar assessment was presented by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who said following the talks that the meeting was focused on various ceasefire options as well as a prisoner exchange. According to the minister, the sides also talked about a “potential meeting” between Putin and Zelensky.

Umerov confirmed the prisoner exchange, which he said would take place soon, without naming a date. The defense minister also stated that the sides had discussed “all modalities” related to a potential ceasefire.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations talked for almost two hours during the first direct talks between the two warring parties in over three years. The dialogue, which was disrupted in spring 2022 after Ukraine unilaterally walked away from the negotiating table, was resumed upon Putin’s initiative.

On Sunday, the Russian president offered to renew direct talks without any preconditions. Zelensky, who had previously ruled out any negotiations with Moscow, only agreed to attend following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of his support for the idea.

The Ukrainian leader went to Ankara and demanded that Putin do the same for the talks to commence. The Kremlin responded by saying the Russian president had no such plans. Moscow’s delegation arrived in Istanbul on Thursday, where it waited for the Ukrainian team all day to arrive. Zelensky eventually put together Kiev’s delegation that evening.