Kremlin expects confirmation of next Russia-Ukraine talks this week

The dates for a next third round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations should be determined this week, according to Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation, is in contact with his Ukrainian counterpart, Peskov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow expects the dates for the next round of negotiations to be determined after 22 June.

Kyiv said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had shown "disdain" for the peace process by suggesting Moscow might seize more Ukrainian territory.

"Putin's cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts ... The only way to force Russia into peace is to deprive it of its sense of impunity," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said in a post on X.

Putin on Friday told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russians and Ukrainians were one people, "and in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours".

The second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place on 2 June. During the talks, both sides exchanged draft memoranda on a peaceful settlement and agreed to the exchange of seriously wounded prisoners of war, as well as the bodies of the deceased. Moscow handed over approximately 6,000 bodies to Kyiv, - tass.com reported.

The conflict has intensified in recent weeks, with Russia carrying out some of its heaviest air attacks of the war.

Copied