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Russia and Ukraine agreed Wednesday to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war each, a Russian negotiator said following a new round of talks in Istanbul. Moscow also offered to return the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat.
"Continuing the exchange of prisoners of war, we have agreed that at least 1,200 additional prisoners of war will be exchanged on both sides in the near future," said Vladimir Medinsky, a presidential aide leading the Russian delegation, during a press conference.
Russia and Ukraine concluded their third round of peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday in less than an hour. The meeting between the delegations followed separate contacts between their leaders, beginning around 8:37 p.m. local time (1737 GMT) and ending at approximately 9:16 p.m. (1816 GMT)..
Medinsy also said Russia proposed forming three online working groups to address political, humanitarian, and military issues.
Moscow also suggested including civilians in the swap, referring to about 30 Ukrainians held in Russia’s Kursk region since last year.
Medinsky said Russia has returned approximately 7,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers and offered to transfer 3,000 more. He also said Moscow is willing to receive an unlimited number of its deceased soldiers from Ukraine.
Moscow further proposed declaring cease-fires lasting between 24 and 48 hours to allow evacuation of wounded soldiers and recovery of bodies, Medinsky said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's negotiators proposed a direct meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
"The priority number one is to organise the meeting of the leaders, of presidents, with the participation of (U.S. President Donald) Trump and (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan," Ukraine's lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said, adding Kyiv had proposed to hold the talks by the end of August.
Umerov also thanked Türkiye for its mediator role in contacts with Russia: "We thank Türkiye for its facilitating role, it is an important platform for dialogue and peace," he said.
A member of the Ukrainian delegation, First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, said the Russian side accepted requests for release of people held captive for over three years while Heorhii Tykhyi, a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman, stated Ukraine has zero preconditions for declaring a cease-fire.
Kyiv also expects "further progress" on exchanges of prisoners between countries, Umerov added.
The negotiations, hosted in Istanbul for the third time, began Wednesday evening with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urging both sides to end what he called a “bloody war” as soon as possible.
"Our aim is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible," Fidan said. "The ultimate goal is a cease-fire that will pave the way to peace."
Türkiye, which maintains close ties with both of its Black Sea neighbors, has provided drones to Ukraine while refraining from joining Western-led sanctions against Russia.
Fidan expressed appreciation for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for showing "the will to hold these talks," and also thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for his public calls to end the conflict.
He noted that the first two rounds of talks — also held in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 — had yielded “significant results,” including previous prisoner swaps and the return of soldiers’ remains.
"We are pleased to see that the prisoner exchanges carried out to date have been appreciated by the international community in terms of their humanitarian outcomes," he said.
Fidan added that both parties had exchanged memoranda during the second round outlining their respective visions for a cease-fire and long-term peace.
"We also consider it an important development that the parties exchanged memoranda reflecting their perspectives on the ceasefire and peace during the second round of talks," he said. "Our hope for this third round of negotiations is that the parties will hold substantive and results-oriented consultations on the memorandums they have exchanged."
Fidan also stated that if a cease-fire is reached, Türkiye stands ready to implement a monitoring mechanism, noting that “the necessary infrastructure is in place.”
"The Istanbul talks provide us with an opportunity to show the world that diplomacy and dialogue are more effective than conflict and weapons in securing peace," he said.
The first two rounds of talks also produced agreements on the return of the bodies of 6,000 fallen soldiers from each side, and prioritized prisoner exchanges involving the youngest and most severely wounded captives.
In this third round, Russia’s delegation is led by Medinsky, while Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, leads Kyiv’s team.
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