Russian and Ukrainian officials met for less than two hours in Turkiye for their first direct talks in more than three years, aimed at ending the war.
The delegations met on Friday at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace in Turkiye, where the two sides failed to agree on a ceasefire despite pressure from United States President Donald Trump to end the war.
But before they adjourned, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap since the war began.
Both sides also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to chief Ukrainian delegate Rustem Umerov.
Umerov said Kyiv believed the next step should be a meeting of the nations’ two leaders.
Umerov told reporters that the first priority in the talks on Friday in Istanbul was to secure the release of prisoners of war, and the second, to secure a ceasefire, adding that the next step should be leader level talks.
Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow’s delegation, confirmed that both sides agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals and a meeting between their heads of state.
Medinsky said Moscow was satisfied with the Istanbul talks’ results and was ready to continue talking to Kyiv.
At the palace, the two delegations sat in front of each other, the Russian officials dressed in suits and half the Ukrainians wearing camouflage military uniforms.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who chaired the meeting, told the delegations there were “two paths” ahead of them.
“One road will take us on a process that will lead to peace, while the other will lead to more destruction and death. The sides will decide on their own, with their own will, which path they choose,” Fidan said.
