Meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations to continue direct talks will take place in Istanbul today. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the talks will focus on further prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian civilians.
The Ukrainian delegation is headed by former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The Russian delegation, according to Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow expects that “the main day of the talks will be Wednesday, July 23.”
The day before, Peskov said that one should not expect a miracle from these talks.