'That's a step toward': Zelenskyy says about movement on possible meeting with Putin

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukrainians need the war to end, and in his view, that process begins with a meeting between the leaders.

"There's no other way with them (Russians - ed.). We need an agenda for such a meeting - a meeting at the level of leaders. The issue is that we always raise this topic publicly. And now, in their conversations with us, they've started talking about it. That's already a step toward some kind of meeting format," the Ukrainian President explained.

Zelensky also added that, in his opinion, Ukraine has managed to achieve quite a lot thanks to "some actions on Russian territory, some operations."

"Many things, aside from negotiations, dialogue, and diplomacy, have also happened on their territory. You've seen it," the Ukrainian leader added.

Istanbul talks

On July 23, Ukrainian and Russian delegations held a third round of negotiations in Istanbul.

Among other things, Ukraine once again proposed a meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, with the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump, by the end of August.

For more details on what Ukraine and Russia discussed in Istanbul, read our material on the topic.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, also commented on whether there would be additional rounds of talks if Putin and Zelenskyy's meeting could not be organized by the end of summer.

In addition, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Ankara is ready to help monitor a ceasefire if Ukraine and Russia agree to one.

Fidan called on both Moscow and Kyiv to make progress within the framework of the Istanbul contacts.