Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov said the second round of peace talks held between Russia and Ukraine did not produce any “breakthrough” although some agreements were reached during the talks.
Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Peskov said "The settlement issue is extremely complex and involves a large number of nuances,” highlighting that “it would be wrong to expect immediate solutions and breakthroughs” following the two-hour meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, Turkey on Monday.
"Once again, let me emphasize that we have repeatedly said the issue of settling the conflict is extremely complex and encompasses a multitude of intricate details," the Kremlin spokesperson said.
Asked about a trilateral meeting between US, Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Peskov said such a meeting was unlikely to take place in the near future, stressing that line of communication with Washington remain open and functional.
“President Putin has repeatedly stressed his readiness for high-level contacts, while emphasizing that these contacts should be the result of agreements that will be worked out at the technical and expert level. President Putin supports the idea of contacts, but believes that they should be well prepared," Peskov stated.
Furthermore, the Kremlin spokesperson slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zeleskiy for what he described as speaking insolently about the Russian delegation in Istanbul, saying that such behaviour was unacceptable
Although Monday’s peace talks did not yield any results in achieving an unconditional ceasefire - a key condition put forward by Ukraine, the EU and the US - Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange another 1,000 prisoners of war. The talks came a day after Ukraine’s surprise Spiderweb operation that targeted over forty Russian strategic bombers in four military airfields across Russia.
