During talks that lasted just 40 minutes, Ukraine proposed a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting in August
Russia and Ukraine discussed further prisoner swaps on Wednesday at a brief session of peace talks in Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.
“We have progress on the humanitarian track, with no progress on a cessation of hostilities,” Ukraine’s chief delegate, Rustem Umerov, said after talks that lasted just 40 minutes.
He said Ukraine had proposed a meeting before the end of August between Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. He added: “By agreeing to this proposal, Russia can clearly demonstrate its constructive approach.”
Russia’s chief delegate Vladimir Medinsky said the point of a leaders’ meeting should be to sign an agreement, not to “discuss everything from scratch”.
