Russia says foreign minister has discussed Istanbul talks with US state secretary

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have held a phone call to discuss the outcomes of the Russo-Ukrainian negotiations held in Istanbul on 16 May, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said.

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry

Details: The Russian Foreign Ministry said Rubio had emphasised Washington's readiness to continue supporting efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine.

It also noted that Rubio welcomed the agreements reached on a prisoner-of-war exchange and on both parties outlining their visions of the conditions necessary for a truce.

No information has been released by the US regarding this call.

Background:

• On 16 May, for the first time in over three years, direct talks were held in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
• Russia sent a low-level delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin.
• The Russian delegation is reported to have demanded that US representatives not attend the negotiations with Ukraine and to have put forward a number of conditions that are unacceptable to Kyiv.
• Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov said that during the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations discussed the possibility of a thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange.
• Bloomberg reported that the Russian representatives had presented several demands to the Ukrainian delegation setting out the conditions on which Moscow is ready to cease fire. These demands include Ukraine withdrawing from territories and renouncing claims for reparations.

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