Russia says humanitarian deals reached at 3rd round of talks with Ukraine ‘positive’

Russia on Thursday said it sees the humanitarian agreements reached at the third round of renewed peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul a day earlier as "positive."

"The continuation of the exchange and return of civilian bodies … is an extremely important humanitarian aspect that, from our point of view, should be on the agenda. But still a positive aspect," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a press briefing.

Reiterating that Moscow did not expect a breakthrough in the talks, Peskov said Russian proposals at the meeting were "constructive, specific and aimed specifically at substantive work that can lead to the achievement of specific results."

Peskov also spoke about a potential leaders' meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying it is still necessary to work on this topic.

"They are trying to put the cart before the horse a little bit. First, all the work needs to be done, and then the heads (presidents) need to be given the opportunity to record the achievements that have been made," he added.

He denied any specific discussions on a possible meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump in China in September.

Russia and Ukraine held the third round of direct peace talks, facilitated by Türkiye, on Wednesday evening. They agreed on a new prisoner exchange with at least 1,200 people from each side.