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Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Friday that Moscow is ready to participate in a third round of peace negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, expressing gratitude to Türkiye for providing the platform.
Speaking at a press conference in Minsk, Belarus, Putin said the exact date and time of the next meeting will be determined following the completion of prisoner exchanges agreed on June 2 in Türkiye.
"In general, we are ready for this (next round of talks), we need to coordinate the place and time. I hope that the president of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, remains in his position to support this process, and we are very grateful to him for this," Putin stated.
Putin emphasized that the upcoming round of negotiations depends on coordination between the two countries’ negotiation teams.
"We are ready to hold such a meeting in Istanbul. But when specifically, these are the group leaders from both sides, and they are in constant contact, they are now agreeing on the time of the meeting," he said.
The Russian president confirmed that Moscow is prepared to return the remains of 3,000 additional Ukrainian soldiers as part of the ongoing humanitarian exchange process.
During the press briefing, Putin acknowledged significant differences in the proposals exchanged by Russia and Ukraine at earlier negotiation rounds. "As for the memorandums, as expected, nothing surprising happened... these are two absolutely contradictory memorandums," he said.
Despite the discrepancies, Putin voiced hope that continued talks would help bridge the gaps between the two sides.
Also during his remarks in Minsk, Putin expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump, stating, "In general, thanks to President Trump, relations between Russia and the United States are beginning to level out in some ways."
He said he respected Trump and that a meeting between the two would be "quite possible." Putin also noted that Russia plans to reduce its military expenditures in the long term due to inflation pressures driven by current defense spending.
At the previous round of negotiations held in Istanbul on June 2, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement to exchange the remains of a total of 12,000 fallen soldiers. The continuation of these exchanges is a key precondition for scheduling the next diplomatic round.
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