Ukrainian Defence Minister and lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov has disclosed that today’s talks with the Russian delegation produced a second exchange of prisoners of war, this time focusing on the severely injured and young people.
Today’s talks in the Çırağan palace concluded after less than two hours, even less than the limited talks a few weeks ago.
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Umerov said that the remains of dead soldiers would also be repatriated as part of the exchange
He also said that there was discussion about a potential meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Vladimir Putin, possibly also involving Donald Trump at the end of June.
At the end of last month Ukraine and Russia completed a “1,000 for 1,000” prisoner swap after three days of exchanges – the biggest total swap of the war. This exchange was agreed in the previous talks in Istanbul held in May.
Umerov revealed that his team came with three agenda items, primarily a ceasefire.
“We are insisting on a full and unconditional end to the killing now: An unconditional ceasefire, meaning air, sea and land for at least 30 days. This demand has been unchanged for three months and we consider it the basis of a peaceful resolution.”
Rustem Umerov
He stated that the second point is the release of “all prisoners and all abducted children.” This would be an “all for all” exchange rather than focusing on numbers, meaning all seriously wounded and sick prisoners of war, as well as an exchange of all soldiers aged 18-25.
Umerov said that the Ukrainians agreed to return 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers while providing the Russian side a list of Ukrainian children abducted to Russian territory during the war.
“This matter is a fundamental priority for us: If Russia is genuinely committed to a peace process, the return of at least half the children on this list is positive.”
Rustem Umerov
However, Umerov and Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergiy Kyslytsya both complained that their team had only received a Russian memo outlining their demands for an end to the war during the meeting, rather than beforehand as they demanded.
“We could not react to the Russian proposals as they were literally only advanced during the meeting. Nevertheless we manage to construct our conversation in a way that we can have a tangible humanitarian outcome.
“The Russian side continues to reject the notion of an unconditional ceasefire, the same one the president of the United States offered a while ago…the same unconditional ceasefire our delegation has offered once again.”
Sergiy Kyslytsya
Meanwhile, Moscow’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky said that at the talks, Russia proposed a partial ceasefire of “two to three days in certain areas of the front line so that commanders can collect the bodies of their soldiers.”
Ukraine Proposes Next Round Of Russia Talks Before End Of June
Ukraine proposed to hold a next round of talks with Russia before the end of June.
Ukrainian Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov said after today’s talks in Istanbul, “We propose to the Russian side to hold a meeting by the end of this month, from 20th to 30th of June.”
He added that the delegations should try to agree a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy last month challenged Putin to meet him personally in Istanbul after the Russian President rejected a demand from Ukraine and European allies to sign up to a 30-day ceasefire.
Putin didn’t turn up and Russia’s delegation was instead headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led today’s talks for Moscow.
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