MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. The next round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will likely center around coming to an agreement on the terms and procedures for a ceasefire, a Russian lawmaker and party leader said.
"I venture to suggest that the next round will be devoted specifically to reaching a mutual understanding on the mechanics of a ceasefire. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, <…> as to whether the situation or the process will yield common understanding. But I think that the probability of this is quite good," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), said in an interview with the Soloviov Live television channel.
Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, their first since 2022, were held in Istanbul on May 16, lasting nearly two hours. Head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky, who serves as a Russian presidential aide, said after the talks that the Russian side is satisfied with their results and is ready to continue contacts. According to Russia’s chief negotiator, the sides agreed to exchange 1,000 Russian POWs for 1,000 Ukrainian POWs. He also said that Ukraine had requested direct talks between the two countries’ leaders and the Russian side had "taken note of this request.".