ISTANBUL, June 3. /TASS/. Ankara expects Russia and Ukraine to hold another round of talks following the progress during their latest meeting in Istanbul on June 2, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.
"I think the June 2 meeting yielded progress in terms of the implementation of what was agreed during the previous round of talks. That is why we expect that another meeting will be held," he told the TRT Haber television channel, commenting on the June 2 round of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul.
He noted that yesterday’s talks yielded major agreements, such as on another exchange of prisoners of war and the sick. "The sides arrived for the meeting well-prepared and were determined to reach some results," he added.
On June 2, Istanbul hosted the second round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine. During the slightly more than an hour-long meeting, the sides spoke Russian. They exchanged documents with their vision of ways to settle the conflict.
Moscow’s document provides for two options for a ceasefire in Ukraine. The first one implies a complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops and other paramilitary units from Russia’s territory, including the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics to a distance off the Russian border that would be agreed upon by the parties in accordance with the approved provision.
The second ceasefire scenario is based on a package resolution comprising 10 points. These include a ban on the redeployment of Ukrainian troops, except their withdrawal to a distance off the Russian borders that would be agreed upon by the parties, a halt of mobilization and beginning of demobilization in Ukraine. Apart from that, it provides for the cessation of foreign military aid to Ukraine, including the provision of intelligence and satellite communication services, as well as the refusal from other countries’ military presence in Ukraine and the engagement of foreigners in combat operations on the side of the Ukrainian army.