Kyiv [Ukraine], July 22 (HBTV): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that the next round of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Turkiye on Wednesday, according to a video statement released on Telegram, as reported by RT.

Moscow and Kyiv have already held two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul earlier this year. During their previous meeting, both sides exchanged draft memoranda outlining potential roadmaps to resolve the conflict and agreed on fresh prisoner-of-war (POW) exchanges.

‘I discussed with Rustem Umerov the preparation of the [POW] exchange and another meeting in Turkiye with the Russian side. Umerov reported that the meeting is planned for Wednesday,’ Zelenskyy said in the statement.

Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council and Kyiv's chief negotiator in previous rounds, is coordinating preparations for the upcoming meeting.

RT noted that earlier reports from TASS, citing an insider source, suggested the talks might take place on Thursday. However, Zelenskyy confirmed Wednesday as the scheduled date for the dialogue.

The upcoming discussions represent a continuation of diplomatic engagement between the two countries amid ongoing efforts to resolve the conflict through negotiation. In line with this, Russian authorities are reportedly preparing a response to Ukraine’s proposal for renewed dialogue, according to Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs.

‘If there really was a statement (about Ukraine's readiness for negotiations), I am convinced that it is being seriously considered by the Russian leadership. And, apparently, we will find out the decision in the coming days. If the proposal is accepted, we need to prepare for contacts,’ Karasin told Izvestia.

On July 17, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, stated that the third round of talks would focus on the draft memoranda previously exchanged. These documents detail specific conditions for each side to agree on a ceasefire and establish peace.

Karasin, however, expressed scepticism regarding the potential success of the upcoming discussions.

‘If we talk from a position of optimism, which is typical for us, then yes, it can bring results. But this optimism is peculiar, in my opinion, only to us, and everyone else is playing some kind of game. I mean the participants in the process, first of all, the Kiev authorities,’ he said.

(ANI)