Started with a two -hour delay, the third round of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine ended quickly
The third round of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 23, 2025. Photo: Safar Rajabov / Xinhua News / Profimedia
The third round of direct conversations between the delegations of Kiev and Moscow, dedicated to the cessation of the Ukraine war and held on Wednesday night in Istanbul, lasted less than an hour, the Russian press agency TASS, which cites a source close to the discussions, according to Reuters.
Tass mentions that representatives of Ukraine and Russia have agreed to make more prisoners, both military and civilians.
The discussions, started with a two -hour delay, were hosted by the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, notes Agerpres.
Before the meeting, the leaders of the two delegations, the former Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Humorov and the former Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinski, had a Tete-Tete meeting attended by the head of Turkish diplomacy Hakan Fidan.
Meeting between four eyes of Russian and Ukrainian leaders of delegations from Istanbul negotiations
Fidan expressed “gratitude” to presidents Volodimir Zelenski and Vladimir Putin, “who have expressed their desire to organize these negotiations”, but also to their American counterpart Donald Trump and “all the other leaders who contributed to these calls”.
“We have achieved significant results during the first two rounds of negotiations,” said the head of Turkish diplomacy.
Ukraine and its Western allies accuse the Kremlin of blocking the negotiations by maintaining maximalist requests, while the Russian army continues its attacks on the front.
In May, Ukraine and Russia have begun to bear direct discussions for the first time in the last three years.
So far, these calls have led to a large -scale exchange of prisoners of war, in the most recent being released under 25 years and seriously injured.
