Wednesday 23 / July / 2025
Istanbul: Officials from Ukraine and Russia are set to meet for a third round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dampened expectations, saying the talks would likely focus on another round of prisoner of war swaps rather than details of a ceasefire.
"We need more momentum in the negotiations to end the war," Zelenskyy told diplomats in Kyiv on Monday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said that "major diplomatic work" was still needed in order to negotiate a ceasfire.
A key point of contention is Kyiv's calls for an unconditional ceasefire, as opposed to Russia maintaining its maximum demands that include the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the eastern regions of the country Moscow illegally annexed.
