Ukrainian Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov has said that the agreement with Russia to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war is an “important achievement.”
Speaking to reporters following talks with Russia in Istanbul, Umerov said that the Ukrainian delegation’s first priority in the talks was “people”, iterating that both sides reached an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each.
Describing it as an “important achievement,” Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation, stated that the prisoner swap “shows that we are focused to finalise this war.”
He noted that Ukraine’s second objective was to discuss a ceasefire and both sides “exchanged some modalities” and teams are now working on “exchanging the details.”
Also, the Ukrainian Defence Minister noted that his country’s third objective is to hold “high-level discussions.”
He said that it should be for a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Vladimir Putin.
“Our President (Volodymyr Zelensky) was expecting the high-level discussions here, and I think the next step would be that the leaders-level meeting should be organized.”
Rustem Umerov
He added that while Ukraine is able to continue fighting, “at the end of the day we need to finalize this war,” reiterating that “Ukraine wants peace.”
Speaking alongside Umerov, First Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergiy Kyslytsya called Friday’s talks “potentially a very good end to a very difficult day that is a result of many weeks of work of our leaders – of the president of Ukraine, of the United States, of the president of Turkey and our European partners.”
He described the success of Friday’s negotiations as “tentative” and “still to be consolidated,” calling for pressure on Russia to continue. “We should not really relax at this point,” he said.
“There are many issues that can be resolved if only the leaders can meet because, given the complexity of the issues, and given the nature of the Russian Federation – where practically every single issue that is at stake can only be resolved by President (Vladimir) Putin – we are looking forward to having the summit sooner than later.”
Sergiy Kyslytsya
Ukraine’s foreign ministry Spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi noted that the Russian delegation “voiced a number of things which we deem unacceptable” during talks in Istanbul.
He added that Ukrainian officials handled it “in a calm manner” and outlined their positions.
Russia-Ukraine Talks “More Positive Than Expected”
Meanwhile, a Turkish official said that Friday’s talks between Ukraine and Russia were “more positive than expected,” hours after the discussions wrapped up in Istanbul.
The Turkish official told a news agency, “They didn’t use accusatory language.”
The official said that Russia’s demand that Ukraine pull out of territory still under its control was made “in the context of speaking about the ceasefire.”
A source familiar with Friday’s negotiations had earlier told the news agency that Russia’s team made the demand that Kyiv pull out of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, the four regions which Russia attempted to illegally annex in 2022.
The Turkish official said of the agreed prisoner swap between the two nations, “At a moment where it seemed like there was an impasse, we suggested the POW exchange that will include three categories – children, civilians and soldiers. The Ukrainian side went out to get approval for it.”
The official stated that the Russian team “seemed to need to consult less than the Ukrainians.”
“They are two sides coming to the table to talk about two different things. But the fact that they came to İstanbul can be seen as a need on their part to find a way out.”
Turkish official
The fact that teams from each country were in the same room was a big development in itself.
The warring nations haven’t officially met since the early weeks of Moscow’s invasion.
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