Zelenskyy announces new meeting in Istanbul

The third round of Ukrainian-Russian talks in Turkey will take place on July 23, reported president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his evening address.

"Today I discussed with [Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and head of the delegation] Rustem Umerov preparing an exchange and another meeting in Turkey with the Russian side. Umerov reported that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday," the head of state said.

The President promised to provide more details on Tuesday, July 22.

During the annual meeting of ambassadors, Zelenskyy reported that the agenda of the new talks will include the return of prisoners and children abducted by Russia, as well as the preparation of a meeting at the level of the leaders of the countries.

Earlier, on July 18, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a call with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said his country would continue to host the talks in Istanbul, as soon as the favorable dates for the parties are determined.

• on July 8, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that Putin and other representatives of the Russian Federation allegedly not against the third round of negotiations even at the level of leaders.
• on July 11, President Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine is ready for negotiations at the level of leaders in any format. At the same time, he noted that it is necessary to complete the process of exchanges agreed upon during the second meeting in Istanbul on June 2.
• The only real results of the two Istanbul meetings were large prisoner exchanges and the bodies of the dead. Before the exchange of bodies, Ukraine faced provocations by the Russian Federation. Later, it turned out that Moscow was once again handing over the fallen defenders with bodies of the occupiers.
• The new meeting in Turkey will take place against the backdrop of Trump's 50-day ultimatum to Russia and implementation of a new scheme for the purchase of military aid for Ukraine.