UPDATE - Zelenskyy says Ukraine proposed new round of peace talks with Russia next week

UPDATES QUOTES WITH OFFICIAL TRANSLATION; ADDS BACKGROUND

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said that Kyiv proposed a new round of peace talk with Russia for next week.

“NSDC (National Security and Defense Council) Secretary (Rustem) Umerov also reported that he has proposed another meeting with the Russian side for next week,” Zelenskyy said in an evening video address.

Reaffirming that the pace of the negotiations between the two countries “must be increased,” Zelenskyy underlined the need for a meeting at the leaders’ level to ensure peace.

“Ukraine is ready for such a meeting,” he added.

The Ukrainian president also said that talks with the Russian side regarding exchanges of prisoners and fallen soldiers are ongoing, and that they continue to fulfill the agreements from the previous round of talks in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul last month.

“Our team is currently working on another exchange,” he went on to say, without further elaboration.

Russian authorities have not officially commented on Zelenskyy’s remarks, though Russian media outlets, including state news agency RIA, confirmed the proposal, citing sources close to Moscow's negotiation team.

On Friday, Zelenskyy wrote on X following a meeting with Umerov that the process of implementing agreements reached at the second Istanbul peace talks "needs more momentum."

In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov welcomed Zelenskyy's remarks as a "positive signal," saying that Moscow also advocates adding momentum to the negotiation process.

So far, two rounds of direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks have been held in the Turkish metropolis, the latest having taken place on June 2, where the sides managed to reach a number of important humanitarian agreements.