Ukraine and Russia have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each in a major breakthrough in peace talks.
Kyiv Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has said a date for the swap has been agreed, but will not be made public.
Umerov also says a potential meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin was discussed and that an announcement about a possible new round of talks will be announced soon.
Meanwhile, head of the Russian delegation in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, said: "We have agreed that each side will present its vision of a possible future ceasefire."
Ukraine and Russia came to an agreement over prisoners of war
Reuters
"The negotiators were in Istanbul for their first direct peace talks in more than three years, under pressure from President Donald Trump to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.
"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."
"The Ukrainian side requested direct talks between the leaders of the states. We have taken note of this request," he added
"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."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE FRONTLINE IN UKRAINE:
Head of Ukrainian delegation and Ukrainian Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov,
Reuters
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation in Istanbul for potential peace talks with UkraineREUTERS
Meanwhile, Umerov wrote on social media that peace is possible only if Russia agrees to a 30-day ceasefire, the return of abducted children and an all-for-all prisoner-of-war swap.
He wrote on Facebook that the Ukrainian delegation had come to the meeting to find "real paths to a sustainable and just peace."
Both sides have been wrestling for months over the logistics of ceasefires and peace talks with both Kyiv and Moscow trying to show Trump they are serious about trying to end what he calls "this stupid war".
Hundreds of thousands have been killed and wounded on both sides in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Washington has threatened repeatedly to abandon its mediation efforts unless there is clear progress.
Kremlin press spokesman Dmitry Peskov
Reuters
Asked if Putin would join talks at some future point, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "What kind of participation will be required further, at what level, it is too early to say now."
He added that such a meeting was essential to discuss Russia-US ties, Ukraine and other international issues.
Asked about a Bloomberg report that Washington was proposing to revive the Nato-Russia Council, a forum for military and political dialogue whose work was suspended after Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022, Peskov said there had been no substantive proposals on the subject.
