Putin expresses gratitude to Erdogan for organizing Moscow-Kiev discussions
(MENAFN) Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his appreciation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for assisting in organizing recent direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, the Kremlin said on Monday following a phone call between the two leaders.
Earlier this month, representatives from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for a second round of direct talks. The discussions led to agreements on the exchange of prisoners of war and the repatriation of fallen soldiers' remains. Both sides also shared draft proposals outlining their approaches to a potential peace agreement.
According to the Kremlin, Putin thanked Erdogan for Turkey’s role in facilitating the negotiations and stressed that Russia is fully adhering to the agreements made during the Istanbul meeting, including the return of bodies and POW exchanges.
On Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the transfer of 1,248 Ukrainian soldiers' remains in exchange for the bodies of 51 Russian troops. Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky later stated that Russia has now returned the remains of 6,060 Ukrainian soldiers in total, fulfilling its commitments from the talks.
The ministry also announced Russia’s readiness to hand over an additional 2,239 Ukrainian bodies. However, a prior attempt to initiate the transfer was disrupted when Ukrainian officials failed to appear, claiming there had been no agreement on the date. They also accused Moscow of exploiting the situation for propaganda purposes.
In response, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Ukrainian government of neglecting its own people, stating that President Zelensky’s administration “does not need its people, either dead or alive.”
Following the dispute, Ukraine resumed acceptance of its soldiers’ remains, completing several transfers over the past week.
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