Russia’s foreign ministry announced Wednesday that it is ready to reopen peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. These would be the first direct negotiations since July and the fourth round of negotiations this year.
In the final meeting on July 23, the two nations agreed to a prisoner exchange, the repatriation of dead bodies, and the return of civilians. The talks fell apart when ceasefire proposals and proposals for a meeting between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky could not be settled. The July meeting ended in under an hour.
As in July, a prisoner exchange would likely be a subject of discussion in any resumed talks. Ukraine’s national security and defense council secretary, Rustem Umerov, arrived in Istanbul today to discuss prisoner exchanges between the two countries. “These days, I will be working in Turkey and the Middle East to unblock the exchange process. There was an agreement, and we need to implement it,” Umerov stated.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged Wednesday that Ukraine broke its earlier promise on the agreed-upon prisoner exchanges. “Out of 1200 agreed, fewer than 30 percent have been exchanged,” Zakharova stated. There has been no Ukrainian response.
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