Ukraine and Russia reach preliminary agreement on new meeting – Turkish Foreign Ministry
The Ukrainian and Russian delegations reached a preliminary agreement to hold another meeting following the May 16 negotiations in Istanbul.
This was announced by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on social media platform X, according to Censor.NET.
He noted that the talks took place with Türkiye acting as a mediator.
Fidan also confirmed that both sides agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange in a "1,000-for-1,000" format as a "confidence-building measure."
"They also agreed to present, in writing, the conditions that could allow a ceasefire to be achieved. Additionally, both sides agreed in principle to meet again.
As Türkiye, we will continue to do everything in our power to support efforts toward a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine," Fidan added.
Talks in Turkey
On the night of May 11, Putin proposed resuming direct negotiations with Ukraine "without any preconditions" in Turkey on May 15.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine must immediately agree to Russia’s proposal for direct talks in Turkey.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would personally wait for Putin on May 15. He also noted that he would like Trump to be present in Turkey as well.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin officially approved the composition of the delegation that will travel to Istanbul on May 15 for negotiations with Ukraine.
On May 15, the Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for talks with Ukraine.
It was later reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would send a Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul for negotiations with the Russian side.
Russian media later reported that the negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul had been rescheduled for May 16.
On the evening of May 15, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the composition of the Ukrainian delegation for participation in the negotiation process with the Russian Federation in Türkiye, scheduled for May 15–16.
On May 16, in the second half of the day, a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations began, with participation from the Turkish side.
Less than two hours after it began, the meeting between the delegations of Ukraine, Russia, and Türkiye in Istanbul on May 16 concluded.
