According to .Putina, another place of negotiation may be Istanbul, where 2 rounds of talks had previously been held. The Russian leader expressed hope that Turkey's president Recep Erdogan would stay in his position to support this process. Vladimir Putin announced the organisation of the 3rd circular of talks, although the exact date is not yet set.
Putin declared his willingness to return Ukraine bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers who died in the fight against Russia. This message appeared in the context of ongoing exchanges of prisoners of war. The last prisoner exchange took place on Thursday, erstwhile soldiers who had been in captivity since 2022 returned to Ukraine.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski reported that Ukrainian soldiers who were in captivity had returned to the country. To date, both delegations met twice in Istanbul (16 May and 2 June), which led to prisoner exchanges and body return, but not to circumstantial peace arrangements.
In another part of the press conference Putin commented on Russia's relation with the US. Russian leader stated that thanks to efforts of US president Donald Trump, relations between Russia and the United States are beginning to stabilise. Putin expressed “great respect” for Trump and readiness to meet.
According to UN data, more than 13,000 people have died since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine and over 1.5 million have been displaced. Russia and Ukraine have been in conflict since 2014, erstwhile Russia annexed Crimea to its territory.
Vladimir Putin stated that he was “ready to agree place and time” for the 3rd circular of peace talks. Turkey's president Recep Erdogan besides expressed his willingness to support the peace process. Ukraine and Russia hope that the 3rd circular of peace talks will bring affirmative results and aid resolve the conflict.
It is worth noting that Russia and Ukraine have a long past of conflicts, but the current conflict is 1 of the most complex and hard to solve. The global community is active in trying to resolve the conflict, but no circumstantial peace arrangements have been reached so far.
Peace in Ukraine is needed not only for Ukrainians, but besides for Russians and the full global community. Vladimir Putin and president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski hope that the 3rd circular of peace talks will bring affirmative results and aid resolve the conflict. Russia and Ukraine are ready to agree on the place and time of the 3rd circular of peace talks, and the global community is ready to support the peace process.
