Russia-Ukraine Agree To Exchange War Brawl To Return 12 Thousand Army Bodies

Ukrainian Military/PHOTO via Instagram @uaf_general_staff

JAKARTA - Russia and Ukraine agreed in peace negotiations to exchange more prisoners of war and return the bodies of 12,000 soldiers.

Reported by Reuters on Monday, June 2, the warring party met for nearly an hour in Istanbul, Turkey, for the second round of negotiations since March 2022.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan described it as a major meeting and hopes to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Turkey with US President Donald Trump.

However, there was no breakthrough in Ukraine's proposed ceasefire, its European allies and Washington urged Russia to accept it.

Moscow says it wants a long-term settlement, not a pause in the war, while Kyiv says Putin is not interested in peace.

Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said Russian negotiators had submitted a detailed memorandum outlining Moscow's requirements for a full ceasefire.

Medinsky, who heads the Russian team, said Moscow had also proposed "special ceasefires for two to three days on several front lines" so the bodies of the dead soldiers could be collected.

Each party said it would hand over the bodies of 6,000 soldiers who died to other parties.

In addition, they said they would carry out further exchanges of prisoners of war, after 1,000 prisoners on each side were exchanged following the first round of negotiations in Istanbul on May 15.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the Kyiv delegation, said the new exchange would focus on those seriously injured in the war and on young people.

Umerov also said Moscow had submitted the draft peace agreement to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kyiv - who has compiled its own version - will review the Russian documents.

Ukraine proposed holding more negotiations before the end of June, but believes only meetings between Zelenskuy and Putin could resolve many debated issues, Umerov said.