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Meeting with US, Turkish representatives in Istanbul productive — Ukrainian defense chief

Accoridng to the sources, the meeting lasted more than an hour

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has said that trilateral talks with the US and Turkey in Istanbul were productive.

Following the talks, Ukrainian journalists asked Umerov as to whether the meeting was productive. "Yes," he replied in a video aired by the My-Ukraina TV channel.

As sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry told TASS, the talks between the United States, Turkey and Ukraine had concluded with the meeting lasting slightly more than an hour. First direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since the spring of 2022 are expected to kick off in Istanbul at 12:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. GMT).

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