The Latest Breaking News from Rustem Umerov

Delegations in Istanbul agree swap of at least 1,000 prisoners, but a ceasefire remains out of reach.

Delegations in Istanbul agree swap of at least 1,000 prisoners, and Ukraine says Russia agreed to return some abducted children

The Kremlin said Kyiv’s calls for Russia to release its ceasefire memorandum before talks in June were ‘non-constructive’

Moscow proposed to Ukraine to meet again in Istanbul for the second round of talks next Monday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he presented Russia’s "specific proposals" for the next round of negotiations to Washington, but has not shared Moscow’s "peace memorandum" with Kyiv.

These are the key events on day 1,178 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Over three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the countries are finally meeting for direct peace talks in Istanbul. Vladimir Putin will be not be attending.

A senior Ukrainian official at the peace talks in Istanbul accused Moscow of introducing “unacceptable demands” that had not been previously discussed, including calls for Kyiv’s forces to withdraw from large swaths of territory they control so a complete ceas efire to be implemented

There is one topic on which Kyiv and Moscow will never agree, and yet, for both sides, this point is of the utmost importance — Crimea. Olha Kuryshko, the Ukrainian president’s permanent representative in Crimea, told Euronews that Russia implemented its 2014 techniques on all occupied territories.

Rustem Umerov, who heads Ukraine's delegation at peace talks with Russia on Friday, is a skilled and pragmatic negotiator, hailed by his colleagues as a worker of diplomatic "wonders".