The True Post(Web News)The largest agreement ever reached between Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war on the exchange of prisoners and the return of the bodies of soldiers.
According to the international news agency, peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were underway in Istanbul under the mediation of the Turkish President, in which several issues were agreed upon.
Under this agreement, the two countries will return the bodies of six thousand soldiers of each other.
In addition, a large number of detained soldiers will also be released, with the first phase of the exchange of 1,000 prisoners taking place on May 15.
Both countries will ensure the immediate exchange of seriously injured and juvenile prisoners in their custody.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan described the success of the peace talks as an excellent development and expressed hope that he would soon host a meeting in Turkey between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and US President Donald Trump.
Although Ukraine, European countries, and the United States had called for an immediate ceasefire, Russia said it only wanted a long-term solution rather than a partial ceasefire.
Vladimir Medinsky, advisor to the Russian president and head of the negotiating team, said that Russia has given Ukraine a memorandum based on detailed conditions for a complete ceasefire.
Russia says it may be willing to agree to an immediate ceasefire if Ukraine withdraws from NATO and withdraws its troops from four occupied territories.
On the other hand, Ukraine has been demanding that no restrictions be placed on its military power, that Russian-occupied territories not be recognized internationally, and that war damages be compensated.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umarov confirmed that Russia has also provided a draft peace agreement, which we will compare with the proposals we have presented and make a decision.
It should be noted that Ukraine has proposed further negotiations before the end of June and has also emphasized that only a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin can resolve the issues.
Ukraine has also demanded the return of children forcibly taken from Russia, a list of which includes the names of 339 children.
Russia maintains that these children were transferred to protect them from war, not kidnapped.
The day before these talks, Ukraine carried out drone strikes on a Russian nuclear-capable bomber base.
It should be noted that Russia currently occupies approximately 113,100 square kilometers of Ukraine (which is equivalent to the US state of Ohio).
More than 1.2 million people have been killed or injured since the beginning of February 2022 between Russia and Ukraine.
Although US President Trump has criticized Putin as “crazy” and Zelensky as “crazy,” he has also spoken of maintaining the possibility of peace and warned that tough new sanctions could be imposed if Russia delays.
