Kremlin awaits date for 3rd round of talks with Ukraine

ISTANBUL

Russia expects the date of a new round of peace talks with Ukraine to be determined this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, as diplomatic efforts to end the war continue.

“We expect that some estimates will be made this week for the third round,” Peskov told reporters in Moscow, noting it is still “difficult to guess” the exact timing, but added that some clarity is likely before early July.

The first two rounds of renewed direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were held in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul on May 16 and June 2.

According to Russian sources, both sides exchanged draft memorandums on a possible peaceful settlement and agreed to swap seriously wounded prisoners of war, along with the bodies of deceased soldiers.

Russia said it transferred around 6,000 bodies of dead Ukrainian servicemen as part of the agreement.

President Vladimir Putin previously stated that the date of the next round of talks would likely be decided after June 22.