Foreign ministry reveals Ukraine’s top 2 priorities in Russia talks
Photo: Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Heorhii Tykhyi (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine is taking part in negotiations with Russia despite Moscow sending low-level officials. The Ukrainian delegation has set two key objectives, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi in the podcast Hruntt with Notevskyi.
He noted that Ukraine is participating in talks with Russia to address humanitarian issues and secure the return of prisoners.
"The second, no less important, task is political and communicational — to prevent anyone from accusing Ukraine of being the side that doesn’t want peace. And there have been plenty of such attempts in various circles, in different countries, even among allied nations," Tykhyi explained.
According to him, in order to demonstrate that Ukraine seeks peace, the Ukrainian delegation continues to attend negotiations with Russia, despite the low level of the Kremlin’s representatives.
"The composition of the Ukrainian delegation shows that security and humanitarian issues are our priority, while everything else is secondary," the spokesperson said.
Ukraine-Russia negotiations
As a reminder, Ukraine and Russia held two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul in May and June 2025. Moscow sent a low-level delegation to Turkey, headed by the so-called "historian" Vladimir Medinsky.
The Ukrainian delegation was led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. For Ukraine, the top priority in the talks was achieving a ceasefire, but Moscow refused to agree to a truce.
The main achievement of the negotiations was the agreement on prisoner exchanges. Since the second round of talks on June 2, Ukraine and Russia have conducted eight rounds of exchanges.
The most recent prisoner swap took place on July 4. Wounded and severely ill defenders, as well as young soldiers, were brought home.
