The second round of negotiations in Istanbul: what Ukraine and Russia agreed on
Kyiv • UNN
The second round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul, where the exchange of prisoners, the return of the bodies of the dead, as well as the return of Ukrainian children were discussed.
The second round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul today. During this meeting, the parties exchanged memorandums in which each outlined their vision of a peaceful settlement of the aggressive war against Ukraine. What else the parties were able to agree on in the process of these negotiations - says the correspondent of UNN.
Exchange of prisoners and return of children: what Ukraine was talking about
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who headed the Ukrainian delegation, said that the parties agreed to carry out another exchange of prisoners of war. At the same time, attention will be focused on the seriously wounded and young soldiers.
"We have agreed on exchanges... We are focusing on the seriously wounded. The focus is on youth. Also – exchange of bodies of the dead...", – said the Minister of Defense during a briefing.
Information about the exchange of prisoners confirmed and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
"The negotiations are over and I am waiting for a full report from Minister Umerov. We exchanged documents through the Turkish side and we are preparing a new release of prisoners," Zelensky said.
Umerov added that a large-scale return of the bodies of fallen defenders and civilians killed by Russians is planned to be carried out to their homeland.
"We also agreed on the return of 6,000 bodies to 6,000 bodies of dead soldiers," - said Umerov.
In addition, a list with the names of more than three hundred children, whom the aggressor state must return to Ukraine, was handed over to the Russian side.
The Ukrainian side proposed to the Russian side to hold another meeting before the end of June - in the period from June 20 to June 30. At the same time, Umerov expressed the opinion that all key issues of this war can be resolved only during a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin.
"Another item on the agenda was the meeting of leaders. We are firmly convinced that all key issues can be resolved only at the level of leaders. A meeting between the leaders may involve other leaders, such as the President of the United States," - said Umerov.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Serhiy Kyslytsia noted that Russia is not ready for a ceasefire, although work in this direction will be continued.
"The Russian side continues to reject the idea of an unconditional ceasefire. Some time ago, the US President proposed a complete ceasefire and on Thursday and Friday this was discussed with the American delegation in New York and our delegation reiterated them. These proposals were not accepted by the Russian side. We came to the conclusion that experts will continue to consider all this," - noted Kyslytsia.
What Russia was seeking
During the negotiations in Turkey, Russia handed over to Ukraine its "memorandum" on a ceasefire, which consists of two parts: how to achieve a real lasting peace, and what steps to take to make a full ceasefire possible.
"We handed over our memorandum to the Ukrainian side, which consists of two parts: first, how to achieve a real lasting peace, and the second part - what steps to take to make a full ceasefire possible. In the second part there is variability: to go this way, or that way. The memorandum is detailed enough, worked out by our side. The Ukrainian side decided to take it for study. Will study, will answer," said the head of the Russian delegation, Volodymyr Medinsky.
The Russian side published a list of 339 Ukrainian children who were allegedly "rescued" by the invaders from the war zone. At the same time, Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation in the negotiations in Istanbul, denied the facts of the abduction of children, accusing the Ukrainian authorities of "a show for Europeans."
"Children who found themselves between two fires due to a difficult situation, these children were evacuated. But if there are their parents and even relatives, they are returned back, reunited with the family," Medinsky said.
Medinsky also added that Russia and Ukraine are preparing for a large-scale exchange of prisoners, in which from 1,000 to 1,200 servicemen may be released. Medical commissions are also being organized for the exchange of seriously wounded soldiers.
"It is expected that from 1,000 to 1,200 people will be included in the largest exchange of prisoners between the Russian Federation and Ukraine since the beginning of its own," - he said.
Commenting on the demands of the Russians, Umerov stressed that the aggressor state provided Ukraine with a "peace memorandum", which sets out its "usual" terms for a ceasefire and a peace agreement.
The Kremlin's position remains virtually unchanged: the aggressor country demands the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories that it has already partially captured (Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson).
As a result, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia went "great".
Erdogan welcomed the agreement on the exchange of prisoners and bodies of the dead following the results of this meeting. He also called these figures "very large".
