By Tajudeen Balogun
Ukrainian President, Volodymir Zelensky has said that he expects more prisoners of war will be exchanged with Russia.
This followed Monday’s round of peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey.
Speaking after a Nato meeting in Vilnius, Zelensky reiterated support for a new set of sanctions to pressure President Vladimir Putin to comply with the ceasefire.
The Head of the Ukrainian delegation has confirmed that Russia has now handed over a memorandum, outlining its negotiation demands, saying that a potential meeting between Zelensky and Putin has also been discussed.
Russia said she has agreed to return the remains of 6,000 soldiers and offered a two to three day ceasefire on certain parts of the frontline to facilitate the collection of the bodies.
The Head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, said Kyiv will now take a week to review it and decide on further steps.
For now, neither side was willing to give any more details of what exactly is in the Russian memorandum.
Similarly, there is also no sign of progress on Kyiv’s demand for a meeting between Presidents Zelensky and Putin.
Speaking to the press, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Heorhii Tykhyi said it is Vladimir Putin who makes key decisions in Russia, so, Kyiv wants to speak to him.
In the meantime, the two delegations said they were happy with Monday’s talks in Istanbul.
The New Diplomat reports that the present war between Russia and Ukraine started in February 2022. At the time, Russia launched a full scale invasion on Ukraine and subsequently captured more Ukrainian territories.
The skirmish has resulted in a refugee crisis and thousands of deaths.
