ISTANBUL, July 25. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to phone his Russian and American counterparts Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump to inquire if they are willing to hold a summit on Ukraine in Istanbul.
"It may be this week that we hold talks with Putin and Trump to discuss the possibility of holding a meeting of the leaders in Istanbul. We will strive for this," he told reporters, commenting on the results of third round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on July 23.
According to Erdogan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan participated on his behalf in the negotiations that took place at the Chiragan Palace. "My foreign minister conducted the meeting on my behalf in Chiragan," the Turkish president said, adding that he himself received the Ukrainian delegation in Ankara before its departure for talks in Istanbul.
On July 23, Istanbul hosted the third round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations on the conflict settlement. Before the full meeting, the heads of the delegations, Vladimir Medinsky and Rustem Umerov, had a one-on-one conversation. The full-fledged negotiations lasted about 40 minutes, when positions set out in the draft memoranda were discussed.
During the meeting, the parties agreed to exchange not only soldiers, but also civilians. Russia has proposed to create three online working groups to address political, military and humanitarian issues. Also, Moscow offered Kiev to transfer 3,000 more bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, and to return to short humanitarian pauses on the front line to collect the wounded and bodies of the dead.