Putin announces new round of talks with Ukraine, sets timeline

According to Putin, Russia is ready to continue negotiations, and "right now, on the humanitarian track, the situation is such that these negotiations make sense."

The Russian leader also noted that the Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams are in contact and are working to arrange a new round of talks after June 22.

"Believe me, we want to end the war too, and as soon as possible. And preferably through peaceful means, if we could reach an agreement," Putin said.

At the same time, the Russian President "advised" Ukraine not to delay the negotiations. Otherwise, according to him, "the situation for Kyiv may get even worse."

Talks in Istanbul

Ukraine and Russia have already held two rounds of negotiations on ending the war.

However, they did not yield any significant practical results, as the Kremlin is putting forward demands that are unacceptable for Kyiv: handing over control of four regions and Crimea to Russia, halting Western arms deliveries, declaring neutrality, and pledging not to join NATO in the future.

The only issue on which both sides managed to reach an agreement was the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers.

Following the June 2 negotiations in Istanbul, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreed on a new exchange of certain categories of prisoners using the all-for-all formula, as well as an exchange of bodies of the fallen on the front line, using the formula 6,000-for-6,000.

In addition, there was a preliminary agreement on the need for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin to get the peace process moving from a deadlock.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered assistance in organizing a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia in Istanbul or Ankara.

Official Kyiv expressed a desire to hold it between June 20 and 30.