In a press conference following the conclusion of the second round of negotiations, he stated, “We have agreed on a broader exchange of prisoners,” noting that the maximum exchange between Russia and Ukraine will not be less than 1,000 individuals and possibly more.
He continued, “Patients and wounded individuals will be exchanged according to the principle of all for all, and fighters under the age of 25 will also be exchanged based on the same all-for-all formula.”
Medinsky added, “We have agreed to establish permanent medical committees, and based on their findings, both parties will compile lists for the exchange of soldiers with serious injuries without waiting for decisive political decisions. These exchanges will occur regularly and at a high level of organization.”
The head of the Russian delegation confirmed that Moscow will deliver the bodies of deceased Ukrainian soldiers, saying, “First, we are unilaterally delivering 6,000 frozen bodies of deceased Ukrainian soldiers to the Ukrainian side; these bodies have been preserved with us,” pointing out that all the identities of the soldiers to be delivered have been confirmed.
Medinsky also indicated that Moscow proposed a temporary ceasefire to Kyiv, stating, “Russia offered Ukraine a tangible ceasefire for two or three days in certain areas of the front, to recover the bodies.”
He clarified that “the Ukrainian army promised to prepare a proposal for a ceasefire in specific areas in the near future.”
The head of the Russian delegation highlighted that the Russian Federation received a list from Ukraine containing the names of 339 children who found themselves in difficult circumstances due to the conflict, emphasizing that Kyiv has turned the issue of child abduction into “a spectacle for compassionate Europeans.”
Medinsky remarked, “There is not a single child that Russia has abducted; there are only those whom Russian soldiers have rescued, and Russia will return the children to Ukraine if their parents or legal representatives are found.”
Medinsky confirmed that the negotiations with the Ukrainian side were conducted in Russian.
After the second round of negotiations, which lasted over an hour, the Russian delegation left the Çırağan Palace in Turkey, where the meeting was held.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Ömer Çelik reported that the second round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul concluded, but “not negatively.”
