Russia, Ukraine swap peace roadmaps at Istanbul talks
Russia and Ukraine yesterday swapped plans for ending their three-year war during talks in Istanbul aiming to find a way out of Europe's largest conflict since World War II.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said any deal must not 'reward' Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but said Kyiv was willing to take the 'necessary steps for peace'.
Urged on by US President Donald Trump, Moscow and Kyiv have opened direct negotiations for the first time since the early weeks of Russia's invasion, but have yet to make progress towards an agreement.
Monday's talks come a day after Ukraine carried out one of its most brazen and successful attacks ever on Russian soil -- using drones to hit dozens of strategic bombers parked at airbases thousands of kilometres behind the front line.
A first round of meetings in Istanbul last month yielded a largescale prisoner exchange but no pause in the fighting, which has raged since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Yesterday, the delegations 'exchanged documents through the Turkish side, and we are preparing a new release of prisoners of the war,' Zelensky said at a press conference in Vilnius just after the talks in Istanbul concluded.
'The key to lasting peace is clear, the aggressor must not receive any reward for war. Putin must get nothing that would justify his aggression,' he added.
Opening the talks at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul -- an Ottoman imperial house on the banks of the Bosphorus that is now a luxury five-star hotel -- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the 'eyes of the entire world' were watching.
Zelensky had said Kyiv was 'ready to take the necessary steps for peace', though the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating positions have long appeared irreconcilable.
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