The Third Round Of Russia-Ukraine Negotiations Is Only 40 Minutes, There Is No Agreement On Ceasefire

The third round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations at the Ciragan Palace, Istanbul. (Source: Alexander Ryumin / TASS)

JAKARTA - There has been no ceasefire agreement and a possible meeting of the Russian-Ukraine leader when the delegation of the two countries met in the third round of peace negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday.

"We have progress on the humanitarian line, but there has been no progress in stopping hostilities," said Ukraine's head Rustem Umerov after negotiations that lasted only 40 minutes.

He said Ukraine had proposed a meeting before the end of August between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"By approving this proposal, Russia can clearly demonstrate its constructive approach," he said.

Meanwhile, Russia's chief delegation Vladimir Medinsky said the purpose of the meeting of leaders should be to sign the deal, not to "discusse everything from the start".

He reiterated Moscow's call for a series of brief ceasefires for 24-48 hours to allow the removal of bodies. Ukraine says it wants a ceasefire soon and longer.

Oleksandr Betz, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, said Kyiv had proposed a Putin-Zelenskiy meeting in August because it would be within the time limit set by Trump to reach an agreement.

Negotiations took place more than a week after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose heavy new sanctions on Russia and countries buying its exports unless a peace agreement was reached in 50 days.

There was no sign of progress towards that goal, although both sides said there were discussions about further humanitarian exchanges after a series of prisoner swaps, most recently taking place on Wednesday.

Medinsky said negotiators agreed to exchange at least 1,200 more prisoners of war from each side, and Russia had offered to hand over 3,000 other Ukrainian bodies.

He said Moscow was reviewing a list of 339 names of Ukrainian children accused of being kidnapped by Kyiv. Russia denies the allegations and says it has offered protection to children separated from their parents during the war.

"Some children have been sent back to Ukraine. The rest are being processed. If legal parents, close relatives, and their representatives are found, these children will be sent home soon," Medinsky said.

Umerov said Kyiv expects "further progress" related to prisoners of war.

"We continue to urge the release of civilians, including children," he said.

Ukrainian authorities say at least 19,000 children have been forcibly deported.

Prior to the negotiations, the Kremlin had played down expectations, describing the position of both sides as very contradictory and saying no one could expect a miracle.

With a duration of 40 minutes, the meeting at the Ciragan Palace was shorter than the previous meeting of the two sides on May 16 and June 2, which totaled less than three hours.