Turkey says talks between Ukraine and Russia were "more positive than expected" – CNN
The talks in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia were "more positive than expected," an unnamed Turkish official told CNN a few hours after the meeting ended.
"It was more positive than expected. They didn’t use accusatory language," the interviewee said.
The official confirmed that "in the context of speaking about the ceasefire," Russia demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from its own territory.
This was previously reported by another CNN source familiar with the negotiations in Istanbul. According to him, the occupiers demanded that Kyiv withdraw its troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, which Moscow illegally incorporated into its constitution. Such Russian whims were also confirmed by interlocutors of other Western media outlets Axios and Sky News.
Now, a Turkish official has told CNN that "at a moment where it seemed like there was an impasse," his country has proposed a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia that would include three categories – children, civilians and military.
"The Ukrainian side went out to get approval for it," the interlocutor noted.
He claims that the Russians "seemed to need to consult less than the Ukrainians" during the negotiations.
"They are two sides coming to the table to talk about two different things. But the fact that they came to İstanbul can be seen as a need on their part to find a way out," the Turkish official concluded.
Officially, Turkey did not give such assessments of the Ukrainian-Russian meeting. The country's Foreign Minister Fidan, in the context of the negotiations, noted that "today was an important day for peace in the whole world."
- Ukrainian diplomatic spokesman Tykhy confirmed that Moscow voiced things unacceptable for Ukraine during the talks in Istanbul. At the same time, the official noted that "the Ukrainian delegation did a great job, calmly."
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Umerov, reported that the parties discussed the issue of a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange in the 1,000-for-1,000 format, as well as a potential meeting between President Zelensky and dictator Putin.
- The aggressor country's chief negotiator, Medinsky, stated that Ukraine and Russia would "present their vision" of a possible ceasefire, "write it down in detail," and then return to further negotiations.