The third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine, held in Istanbul, was not easy and did not have a purely technical nature, although no one expected major breakthroughs.

Axar.az reports that these remarks were made by the head of the Russian State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Leonid Slutsky, in a statement to TASS.

“The third round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations was difficult as expected and not merely technical. It was clear in advance that work would continue toward drafting a peace agreement, but no significant progress was anticipated. Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, also noted that the positions of the sides remain far apart, though dialogue continues,” Slutsky emphasized.

The committee chair also called Russia’s proposal to establish working groups on political, humanitarian, and military issues important:

“We hope Ukraine will respond positively to this proposal.”

It should be noted that the talks in Istanbul took place in both trilateral and bilateral formats.