Russia and Ukraine agree on prisoner swap but no result on ceasefire
The first direct peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in almost three years took place in Istanbul on Friday.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) May 17: In less than two hours, the first direct peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow's 2022 invasion came to a sudden end on Friday. While a large-scale prisoner swap agreement was reached, there was little to no movement made towards a ceasefire.
The two sides had not met in person since March 2022, the month after Russia's invasion, so the meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus is a rare sign of diplomatic progress.
The chairman of Ukraine's delegation highlighted Kyiv's priorities, stating that a 30-day ceasefire, the return of Ukrainian children who had been kidnapped, and the exchange of all prisoners of war were necessary for peace.
Russia says it is prepared to talk about a ceasefire and wants to end the conflict diplomatically. However, it has brought up a number of issues and worries, stating that Ukraine can use the break to rest its troops, collect additional troops, and purchase more Western-made weapons.
Putin is accused by Ukraine and its supporters of delaying and of not being sincere about wanting peace.
Although Russia said it was happy with the discussions and was open to more dialogue, Ukrainian authorities revealed that Moscow had imposed unforeseen demands, such as the removal of Ukrainian troops from sizable occupied territories. "These proposals have never been discussed before," a senior Ukrainian official said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “We haven’t received a Russian ‘yes’ on this basic point,” on Kyiv’s main demand for a ceasefire. “If you want to have serious negotiations, you have to have guns silenced.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he updated US President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, and Poland on the discussions when he was in Albania for a European leadership meeting.
In an X post, Zelenskyy said, “tough sanctions against Moscow if it fails to accept a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who is also present in Istanbul said, "I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm 100% wrong. I hope tomorrow the news says they've agreed to a ceasefire; they've agreed to enter serious negotiations. But I'm just giving you my assessment, honestly."
Aadrika Tayal
