Russia-Ukraine talks yield PoW swap and an agreement to keep talking

Russia said on Friday that the first direct talks with Ukraine in more than three years had yielded a deal to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each soon and to resume talks after each side had set out its vision for a future ceasefire.

In a short statement shown live on Russian state TV after the negotiations in Istanbul had wrapped up, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation, said that Moscow was satisfied with progress made and was ready to keep talking to Kyiv.

"In general, we are satisfied with the result and are ready to continue contacts. In the coming days, there will be a massive thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange," said Medinsky.

That would be one of the largest exchanges of its kind since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 in what he called a special military operation.

"The Ukrainian side requested direct talks between the leaders of our states. We have taken note of this request," Medinsky added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had challenged Putin to fly to Türkiye for direct talks with him on Thursday, but Putin - who had proposed the talks in the first place but had not said who was going for Russia - sent a mid-level delegation of experienced negotiators instead.

In the event, the talks took place on Friday, not Thursday.

'Present a vision of a possible future ceasefire'

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has tried to pressure both sides to move towards a peace settlement, has said he wants a 30-day ceasefire in an attempt to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Kyiv, which is on the defensive on the battlefield, has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire.

But Russia – which is slowly but steadily advancing on the battlefield and is worried that Ukraine will use such a pause to regroup and re-arm – has said it needs to nail down the terms of a ceasefire before signing up to one.

Medinsky told reporters that his team had "taken note" of the Ukrainians' request for direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin.

"We have agreed that each side will present its vision of a possible future ceasefire and spell it out in detail. After such a vision has been presented, we believe it would be appropriate, as also agreed, to continue our negotiations," he said.

In an interview with state TV released after his statement, Medinsky said that history showed that ceasefires did not always precede peace talks and that negotiations had been held throughout the Korean and Vietnam wars while fighting raged.

"As a rule, as Napoleon said, war and negotiations are always conducted at the same time," said Medinsky.

The Kremlin said earlier on Friday that a meeting between Putin and Trump was essential to make progress on Ukraine and other issues, but needed considerable preparation and had to yield results when it happened.

The Russian and U.S. presidents have spoken by phone, but not met since Trump returned to the White House in January, despite both leaders expressing their desire for face-to-face talks.

Ukraine says next step is leaders' summit

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Kyiv believed the next step after talks about the war with a Russian delegation on Friday should be a meeting of the nations' two leaders.

Umerov told reporters that the first priority in the talks on Friday in Istanbul was to secure the release of prisoners of war, and the second, to secure a ceasefire, adding that the next step should be leader level talks.

Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, Serhiy Kyslytsia, said he hoped the nations' two leaders would meet "sooner rather than later".

Zelenskyy's spokesperson said the Ukrainian president held a phone call with Trump and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland as soon as the talks had ended.

Russia's demands were "detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed," a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow had issued ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from parts of its own territory in order to obtain a ceasefire "and other non-starters and non-constructive conditions".

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Russian position was "clearly unacceptable" and that European leaders, Ukraine and the U.S. were "closely aligning" their responses.