Online course: Russia has proposed to Ukraine to create three working groups

Representatives of Moscow and Kiev at the talks in Istanbul agreed on a new prisoner exchange in the amount of at least 1.2 thousand from each side, said the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky. The Russian Federation has offered Ukraine to transfer another 3,000 bodies of its dead soldiers, as well as create three working groups that will work online: on humanitarian, political and military issues. The third round of negotiations was held in Turkey on the evening of July 23. And now Russia hopes to hold a fourth meeting, Medinsky told Izvestia. The Russian parliament believes that she has great chances. At the same time, the tone of future negotiations will depend on the situation on the battlefield, experts believe. What else the delegations talked about for 40 minutes is in the Izvestia article.

Results of the third meeting of representatives of Russia and Ukraine

The Russian-Ukrainian meeting, like the previous time, was held at the Chiragan Palace. The composition of both delegations has hardly changed. The Russian group was headed by Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. Together with him again were Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, as well as Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin and Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Igor Kostyukov. The Russian team also includes several experts.

The Ukrainian delegation increased from 12 to 14 people. The group was also headed by Rustem Umerov, an ex—defense minister who was appointed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. Interestingly, there are more and more people in formal suits among the representatives of the Ukrainian delegation.: There was only one person in a military uniform. Rustem Umerov was dressed neutrally.

— Continuing the exchange of prisoners of war, we have agreed that in the near future there will be an exchange of at least 1,200 more prisoners of war from each side, — Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky.

Moscow and Kiev exchanged 250 prisoners of war on each side on the evening of July 23. The Russian Federation returned to Ukraine more than 7 thousand bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and received a small number of its own, Medinsky stressed.

Russia is ready to transfer another 3,000 bodies of military personnel and has made such an offer. "As soon as the Ukrainian side is technically ready to receive them, the remains of the victims will be transferred to Ukraine with the help of the Red Cross," the head of the Russian delegation stressed.

In addition, the issue of the return of civilians displaced by the fighting was discussed. The Russian side stated that 101 points of the agreements were not fully implemented — not all residents of the Kursk region returned home. Kiev is currently holding about 30 people. Russia is ready to exchange the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other categories of persons for residents of the Kursk region.

In general, the Russian Federation stated that all agreements on humanitarian tracks from the previous round of negotiations have been fulfilled.

"We once again suggested that the Ukrainian side consider, in our opinion, the very important issue of declaring short 24-48—hour truces on the line of contact, on the front line, so that medical teams could pick up the wounded and commanders could pick up the corpses of their fighters," Medinsky said.

Moscow has also raised with Kiev the issue of the return of Russian children who remain in Ukraine or were taken to the EU, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. In general, in order to save time and money, the Russian Federation proposed to form three working groups that will work online: on humanitarian, political and military issues. Ukraine has agreed to consider this proposal.

— Naturally, we discussed for a long time the positions outlined by our parties in the memoranda submitted last time, — said Vladimir Medinsky.

The Russian Federation and Ukraine will continue contacts to discuss them. Now the positions of the parties are far from each other.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin also called the Russian and Ukrainian documents "two absolutely opposite memoranda." Kiev continues to insist on holding a summit meeting. Rustem Umerov said that Ukraine would like to hold it before the end of August. Representatives of the Russian Federation again conveyed to their Ukrainian colleagues that such a dialogue should be well developed. "At this meeting, it is necessary not to discuss the agreement, but to "put an end" and sign it," Vladimir Medinsky noted.

Prospects for the fourth round of negotiations

The last Russian-Ukrainian meeting took place on June 2, the previous one on May 16. Moscow had previously stated that it was not worth waiting for a "breakthrough from the category of miracles" following the results of the third round. "The topic of the Ukrainian settlement is so complex that reaching agreements on exchanges or the return of the bodies of the dead is already effective," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

It is worth emphasizing that the positions of the parties are really very different. The Russian Federation called for the neutrality of Ukraine, the international legal recognition of the entry of Crimea, the LPR, the DPR, the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions into Russia, and the establishment of a maximum number of Armed Forces. Kiev, in turn, declared its desire to join NATO. They also noted that territorial issues should be resolved only after a complete ceasefire.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed its readiness to enter a new round. At the same time, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Kislitsa, openly stated that the Istanbul format of meetings had almost exhausted itself.

However, in Russia they have a different opinion. Moscow hopes that the fourth round of negotiations with Kiev will take place, Vladimir Medinsky told Izvestia. Now there are chances to hold the next rounds, said Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs.

"These rounds of negotiations create an atmosphere of dialogue, and we should appreciate it, because only through it will we sooner or later reach a solution to rather complex problems related to the goals of our military, the future of the situation in the new territories, relations with Ukraine, and so on," he told Izvestia.

The next rounds, one way or another, create prerequisites for a possible meeting between the leaders of the parties, said Alexei Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. The course and tone of the next rounds will be influenced by the situation on the battlefield, believes former Verkhovna Rada deputy Volodymyr Oleynik.

— The more territory losses there will be, especially if large losses occur, or protests intensify due to the laws passed recently (on NABU and SAP. — Ed.), then Zelensky will simply be pushed to go to the polls. That's when there can be big concessions. And the fourth round may be even more "talkative," he told Izvestia.

What is happening in Ukraine now

On July 14, American leader Donald Trump threatened to impose import duties of about 100% on Russia and its trading partners if Moscow and Washington did not reach an agreement on resolving the conflict in Ukraine within 50 days.

At the same time, after several misunderstandings and scandals between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky, Washington nevertheless decided to continue transferring weapons and military equipment to Ukraine. In particular, we are talking about 17 Patriot systems. But there is a condition: Europe will have to pay for such supplies. At the same time, on July 23, Western media reported that Ukraine would not receive the promised Patriots until the spring of 2026. It is assumed that the first system will be available in no earlier than eight months, then Germany will be able to receive the battery, which was originally supposed to be shipped to Switzerland.

It is during these 50 days that the further course of action of Ukrainian politicians will be decided, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Spiridon Kilinkarov told Izvestia. There is little chance that the parties will come to a common denominator on the memoranda.

— The positions of the parties are diametrically opposed. It is very difficult to find a compromise there. Diplomacy will only record the fact of what will happen on the battlefield by the autumn of this year," he said.

It is also worth considering the fact that relations between Kiev and Europe may deteriorate. Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law abolishing the independence of anti-corruption bodies: the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). Some Ukrainian parliamentarians said that such a decision could be viewed as the elimination of the country's anti-corruption structures. On the same day, protests took place in Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa and other cities. The unrest in the Ukrainian capital was even joined by its mayor, Vitali Klitschko.

Such a decision by the Ukrainian leader immediately caused a negative reaction in the EU. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos criticized the adoption of the bill. According to her, the cancellation of NABU's independence guarantees is a serious step backwards, and both departments are necessary for Ukraine's path to the union. Former Verkhovna Rada deputy Spiridon Kilinkarov stressed to Izvestia that the adoption of the law makes it even more impossible for Ukraine to join the union.