Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a large-scale prisoner swap during their talks in Istanbul.
Ukrainian Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, who is the Head of Ukraine’s delegation, disclosed, “We discussed an exchange of 1,000 for 1,000.” He added, “We are also working on other modalities for this exchange.”
Umerov stated that the exchange will take place in the near future, adding that the date has been set, but it is not being made public yet.
Thousands of prisoners have been released in a series of exchanges between Kyiv and Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Also, Umerov added that a potential meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin was discussed and that an announcement about a possible new round of talks will be announced soon.
He noted that “all modalities” of a ceasefire were also discussed.
Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia’s delegation confirmed that a large-scale prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv will take place.
He said that the Russian delegation is satisfied with the talks and is “ready to continue contacts.”
Vladimir Medinsky said in a statement that the Ukrainian side requested direct talks between the heads of state. “We have taken this request under advisement,” he added.
He added that it was agreed that each side will present its vision of a possible future ceasefire, detailing it in writing. He said, “Once these visions have been presented, we believe it is appropriate-as has also been agreed-to continue our negotiations.”
Despite the considerable fanfare, talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegation lasted under two hours.
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 that there were “two paths” ahead of them.
Nonetheless, the two sides failed to agree on a ceasefire despite pressure from United States, President Donald Trump to end the war.
A Ukrainian source speaking to a news agency described Russian demands as “non-starters,” while another accused the Kremlin of introducing “unacceptable demands” for Kyiv to withdraw its forces from swaths of territory.
While Russia has previously said that it wants to end the war diplomatically and is ready to discuss a ceasefire, the prospects for a breakthrough in Istanbul were dim after Russia said that President Vladimir Putin would not attend.
Expectations lowered further after Trump said that there would be no movement towards a ceasefire without a meeting between himself and Putin.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hails Istanbul Talks
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan who chaired a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegates in Istanbul, hailed the talks as an “important day for world peace.”
Fidan posted on X, “As a result of intense diplomatic efforts, Russian and Ukrainian delegations held a meeting in Istanbul, facilitated by Türkiye.”
“As a result of the meeting, they agreed to exchange 1,000 people from each country as a confidence-building measure. They also agreed to share with the other side in writing the conditions that would make it possible to reach a ceasefire.”
Hakan Fidan
Fidan added that both sides had agreed in principle to meet again.
He added that Turkey will continue to “make every effort to make it possible to achieve lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
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