The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian and Ukrainian delegates will meet for a third round of peace talks in Turkey on Wednesday evening.
“Our delegation is flying to Istanbul, and indeed negotiations are scheduled to take placed there tonight,” top spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky will lead the Russian side, as he did in the previous two rounds of talks.
“The main topic of discussion will be peace memorandums that were shared during the second round of talks,” Peskov said.
President Vladimir Putin last month called Russian and Ukrainian demands for peace remain “absolutely contradictory,” but noted that the goal of ongoing talks was to “bring these positions together.”
Peskov also told reporters on Wednesday that the two delegations would discuss additional prisoner exchanges during the third round of negotiations. “And, if necessary, other issues will be raised,” he added.
Earlier, Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform, citing the communications department of the Turkish presidency, reported the talks would begin at 7 p.m. local time.
According to a source cited by RIA Novosti, the meeting is expected to be held at Çırağan Palace, a former Ottoman palace now operating as a luxury hotel. Peskov did not confirm the exact location.
Ahead of the third round of talks, Moscow has sought to downplay expectations. Peskov told reporters earlier this week that it would be “misguided” to expect a breakthrough or set a timeline for a peace deal, citing “many factors” complicating the negotiations.
And on Tuesday, Peskov continued to dial back expectations, saying that “Nobody expects an easy path. Naturally, it will be a very difficult conversation. [Ukraine’s and Russia’s peace proposals] are diametrically opposed to one another.”
Zelensky, meanwhile, has reiterated his willingness to meet one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin has so far rejected the idea, saying Ukrainian law currently forbids negotiations with Putin under a 2022 decree signed by Zelensky.
Russia and Ukraine have held two rounds of direct peace talks this year, the first on May 16 and the second on June 2.
While those discussions resulted in major prisoner exchanges, no progress has been made toward a broader ceasefire or an end to Russia’s full-scale invasion, which Putin launched in February 2022.
