Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 20, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Russia expects to agree on a date for peace talks with Ukraine next week, amid intensified conflict and ongoing negotiations.
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) -Russia expects to agree with Ukraine next week on a date for a third round of peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation, is in contact with his Ukrainian counterpart, Peskov said.
Resuming negotiations after a gap of more than three years, the two sides held face-to-face talks in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 that led to a series of prisoner exchanges and the return of the bodies of dead soldiers.
But they have made no progress towards a ceasefire which Ukraine, with Western backing, has been pressing for. Russia says it wants a final settlement, not just a pause in the fighting, and is insisting on territorial and other demands that Ukraine says would be tantamount to capitulation.
The conflict has intensified in recent weeks, with Russia carrying out some of its heaviest air attacks of the war and Ukraine mounting surprise drone strikes on airfields on June 1 that inflicted serious damage on Russia's nuclear-capable bomber fleet.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Dmitry Antonov, writing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Andrew Osborn)
Russia expects to agree with Ukraine next week on a date for a third round of peace talks, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation, is in contact with his Ukrainian counterpart.
The two sides held face-to-face talks in Istanbul that led to a series of prisoner exchanges but made no progress towards a ceasefire.
The conflict has intensified in recent weeks, with Russia carrying out heavy air attacks and Ukraine conducting surprise drone strikes.
Russia insists on a final settlement rather than just a pause in the fighting, as Ukraine pushes for a ceasefire.
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