A Turkish official said that Friday's talks between Ukraine and Russia were "more positive than expected," hours after the meeting in Istanbul ended, UNN writes, citing CNN.
They were more positive than expected. They did not use accusatory language
The official said that Russia's demand that Ukraine withdraw troops from the territory under its control was made "in the context of a conversation about a ceasefire."
"At the moment when it seemed that we had reached a dead end, we proposed an exchange of prisoners of war, which would include three categories - children, civilians and soldiers. The Ukrainian side left to get approval for this," the Turkish official said about the agreed exchange of prisoners between the two countries.
The Russian team "seemed to need less consultation than the Ukrainians," the official said, adding: "These are two sides sitting down at the negotiating table to discuss two different things. But the fact that they came to Istanbul can be seen as a need on their part to find a way out."
Addition
Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on May 16 - the first direct talks in more than three years - ended about two hours after the start.
Earlier, a Ukrainian diplomatic source said in a comment to the media that Russia's demands at the Istanbul talks were "unrealistic." Russia at the talks, according to a Ukrainian diplomatic source, demanded the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army "from several areas inside Ukraine" in exchange for a ceasefire, Axios journalist Barak Ravid reported. The Russian delegation did not have the authority to make important decisions, they are not ready to make anything significant to end the war, CNN reported, citing a Ukrainian source.
These were the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow after those shortly after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Turkey ready for negotiations, but Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin refused to attend direct negotiations, although he himself had previously proposed them, and instead sent a lower-level delegation.
US President Donald Trump hinted that he was ready to join high-level talks in Turkey, but dispelled any hope of a breakthrough after confirming Putin's absence.