Officially confirming the third round of Russia-Ukraine talks to begin in Istanbul tonight, the Kremlin is cautious
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place tonight, July 23, in Istanbul, Türkiye. However, he also warned of difficulties ahead as the two sides' positions remain very different.
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Speaking to reporters today, July 23, Mr. Peskov confirmed that the Russian delegation led by President Vladimir Medinsky's assistant has left for Türkiye. The negotiations are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Moscow time (11 p.m. Vietnam time).
The talks this time "will mainly focus on issues related to the draft memoranda that were exchanged in the second round, and also discuss continuing a very important process of exchanging prisoners of war," Mr. Peskov said.
Asked about Moscow's expectations, the Kremlin spokesman was cautious and said it was not wise to make premature predictions. "It's hard to say anything at this point. We need to see how things develop," he said. "Nobody expects an easy path. Of course, this will be a very difficult dialogue. The draft proposals are completely contradictory."
Regarding the possibility of a future summit between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Mr. Peskov noted that "it is difficult to talk about scheduling a summit" before the negotiating teams make any significant progress.
In the previous round of talks, Russia reiterated its long-standing position, demanding that Ukraine recognize the loss of five former regions that were annexed to Russia through referendums, withdraw its troops from these regions, commit to neutrality and limit its military capabilities. Moscow also proposed a ceasefire roadmap on the condition that Ukraine halts troop movements, suspends mobilization, stops accepting foreign weapons and holds a presidential election.
Ukraine has rejected Russia's proposal as an unacceptable "ultimatum" and continues to refuse any territorial concessions. Kiev also insists it must retain the right to choose full NATO membership and receive "strong security guarantees" from Western countries.
While the previous talks did not produce any decisive breakthroughs, they did result in a series of prisoner exchanges. The two sides also exchanged the bodies of dead soldiers, with Russia handing over more than 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers and receiving 78 Russian soldiers.