The Kremlin has said it does not expect “surprising breakthroughs” from the upcoming talks with Ukraine and intends to “safeguard its interests”.
“The topic of the Ukrainian settlement is so complicated that reaching agreements on the exchange or return of bodies is already a result. We have no grounds to hope for any surprising breakthroughs,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
He also said that Moscow intends to “ensure its interests and fulfil the tasks we set for ourselves initially.”
A source from Russia’s TASS news agency said that the third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will be held on 24 July. Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the date.
Ukraine has officially proposed a third round of talks with Russia. Subsequently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Rustem Umerov, who remained the head of the negotiating group with the Russian side, reported that a new meeting was planned for Wednesday, 23 July.
Russia and Ukraine last met in Istanbul on 2 June and only concluded agreements on the exchange of prisoners of war due to Russia’s refusal to provide Ukrainian negotiators with a memorandum with its terms for a peace settlement on the eve of the talks.