The only significant result of the second round of peace talks in Istanbul, as in the first time, was the agreement on a large-scale exchange of prisoners and bodies of the deceased. It was supposed to take place this weekend.
On Saturday, Vladimir Medinsky stated that the Ukrainian authorities postponed the start of the new exchange. According to him, the Russian side brought to the exchange area the «first batch of frozen bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers» out of 1,212 people and handed Kyiv a list of 640 prisoners ready for exchange in the first place. At the border with Ukraine, according to him, there is also a contact group from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
However, as Medinsky claims, the Ukrainian side unexpectedly postponed indefinitely both the acceptance of bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war. «Their negotiating group, for some reason, did not even arrive at the exchange location. The reasons given are varied and quite strange», — Medinsky wrote in his Telegram channel.
The Ukrainian coordination headquarters for handling prisoners of war called these statements inconsistent with reality and previous agreements. The agency reminded that over the past week, teams from both sides have been working in two directions — the repatriation of the bodies of deceased servicemen and the exchange of prisoners.
«Regarding the exchange of prisoners — Ukraine submitted lists for exchange, formed according to clearly defined categories agreed upon during the negotiations in Istanbul: severely wounded, severely ill, according to the formula „all for all“, as well as young servicemen», — reported the Coordination Headquarters.
The Russian side submitted lists that did not correspond to the agreed approach. Ukraine provided appropriate comments, and the next step is expected from the Russian side, as indicated in the headquarters' message.
Regarding the repatriation of bodies, an agreement was indeed reached, although the date was not agreed upon, the Ukrainian side reported.
«Instead of consistently following the agreed algorithm, the Russian side resorted to unilateral actions that were not coordinated within the framework of the joint process», — reported the Coordination Headquarters, noting that instead of constructive dialogue, Ukraine again faces «manipulations and attempts to use sensitive humanitarian topics for informational purposes».