By Anthony Marcus for Eurasia Business News, July 20, 2025. Article n°1637.

The third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine is planned to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, most likely next week around July 21–27. Ukraine has officially proposed holding this third round of talks in Istanbul, the same venue as the previous two rounds held in May and June. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that his delegation head, Rustem Umerov, has delivered this proposal to the Russian side, which has indicated preliminary acceptance of Istanbul as the venue, though exact dates have not been finalized yet.

The key issues expected for this round include prisoner exchanges, the return of children, and efforts to stop active fighting, with a strong emphasis on achieving a ceasefire. Zelenskyy highlighted the need to accelerate negotiations and called for a leaders-level meeting to reach long-term peace.

While Russia has not yet publicly confirmed a date, its representatives have expressed willingness to engage in further talks, and the Turkish government continues to facilitate the process. The previous talks in Istanbul resulted in agreements on prisoner swaps but did not secure a full ceasefire.

At previous meetings, which took place on May 16 and June 2, the delegations agreed on the exchange of prisoners of war, and also presented each other with memorandums on the terms of the ceasefire. The Russian president said that the proposals of the two countries are directly opposite, “but the negotiations are organized and held in order to look for ways of rapprochement,” he said.

This third round of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia is planned to take place in Istanbul soon, initiated by Ukraine’s proposal, with the main goals focusing on prisoner exchanges and advancing toward a ceasefire.

Advertisements

Our community already has nearly 150,000 readers!

Subscribe to our Telegram channel

Follow us on Telegram, Facebook and Twitter

© Copyright 2025 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 1637.