Putin pressures Ukraine to accept Russia's terms presented at Istanbul talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin advised Ukraine not to drag out peace negotiations aimed at resolving the war and essentially called on Kyiv to accept Russia's conditions that it put forward during talks in Istanbul, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Putin stated that Russia is ready to negotiate "based on the Istanbul principles" and added that the situation "will worsen" for the Ukrainian side if it does not come to an agreement.
Furthermore, Putin said Russia is prepared to continue peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul after June 22 and noted that the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams remain in contact.
More about negotiations
The previous round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul took place on June 2 and lasted just over an hour.
According to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the sides agreed during the talks to carry out a large prisoner exchange. This would involve swapping all seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war, as well as all soldiers aged 18 to 25. Additionally, there would be an exchange of 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers from each side.
Ukraine and Russia also exchanged documents outlining their visions for ending the war. As before, the Russians are demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian Defense Forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, Ukraine's neutrality, official status for the Russian language, and more.
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