Ukraine to raise Zelenskyy-putin meeting at Istanbul talks – Reuters

Ukraine will make the ceasefire a priority at talks with the russian delegation in Istanbul on May 16 and will also raise the issue of a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and russian leader vladimir putin.

It was reported by Reuters, citing a Ukrainian diplomatic source.

Thus, the source added that there is also a need for "confidence-building measures".

In addition, according to the source, Ukrainian negotiators will also raise the issue of the possibility of a personal meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and russian president vladimir putin.

"We understand that for any diplomacy to be effective, a ceasefire is necessary. A real, lasting and well-controlled one. Humanitarian confidence-building measures are also needed, such as the return of Ukrainian children, detained civilians, (and) the exchange of prisoners of war on the basis of the principle of "all for all", - the publication quotes.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, today, May 16, trilateral negotiations between delegations of Ukraine, the United States of America (US) and Turkey began in Istanbul.

Let us recall that late in the evening of May 14, the russian side announced that dictator vladimir putin had approved the composition of the delegation for negotiations with Ukraine, headed by his assistant Vladimir Medinsky.

On May 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Ankara, Turkey, for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and called the russian delegation for negotiations with Ukraine "sham".

However, Zelenskyy later decided to send a delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to Istanbul for negotiations with the russian side.