ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Kyiv is working on a list of prisoners to be exchanged with Russia, which the two sides agreed on during their latest talks in Türkiye last month.

This came following his meeting with National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, on the implementation of agreements reached in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul, where Moscow and Kyiv held a third round of renewed peace talks on July 23.

After the third round of talks, Ukraine proposed a meeting of the heads of state before the end of August, and the two sides reached a consensus on continuing to exchange prisoners of war.

Vladimir Medinsky, who led Russia’s delegation at the talks, said at a press conference following the talks that both sides completed an earlier exchange involving 1,200 prisoners of war from each side, but confirmed that they also agreed on a new prisoner swap in the same format.

“Among the key issues is the continuation of POW (prisoners of war) exchanges. There is an agreement to exchange 1,200 people, and work on the lists is ongoing,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on X, noting that Umerov, who led Ukraine’s delegation at the Istanbul talks, reported to him on communications with the Russian representative.

“We are also working to unblock the return of our civilians and are verifying data on each individual,” Zelenskyy further said.

He also said that Yermak reported to him on Ukraine’s coordination with its partners in supporting Kyiv’s diplomatic efforts, particularly with the US, among other issues.

Prior to the latest round of talks, two rounds between Russia and Ukraine had taken place in Türkiye—on May 16 and June 2—reviving long-stalled peace negotiations that last took place in March 2022, also in Istanbul.