“The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that we are ready to continue direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side,” Ivanov told Russian news agency TASS. “Our Turkish partners have also constantly stressed that the Istanbul platform remains available to us – these doors remain open.”
He said that Russia had previously presented several initiatives, including proposals to form three online working groups, but “unfortunately, we have not yet received a positive response from the Ukrainian side.”
Ivanov added that Moscow remains open to dialogue “if Kiev shows political will.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustam Umarov, who is leading Kiev’s delegation for direct talks with Russia, arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday.
He said via Telegram that his visit aims to resume the exchange of prisoners of war. He said: “These days, I will work in Türkiye and the Middle East to liberalize the exchange process. There was an agreement, and we need to implement it.”
Russia and Ukraine held three rounds of renewed peace talks in Istanbul this year, and agreed to exchange prisoners and civilians. They also exchanged memoranda outlining their tasks to end the war that began in February 2022.
Moscow proposed creating three online working groups to address political, military and humanitarian issues, but progress appears to have stalled since then.
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