"Our number one priority is to organize a meeting between the leaders, between the presidents of the two countries," Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov told reporters on 23/7 after the 40-minute talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul, Turkey.

According to Umerov, Ukraine proposed the meeting between the two leaders in August, with the participation of US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "If Russia agrees to this proposal, it will clearly demonstrate a constructive approach," he said.

Oleksandr Bevz, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, said Kyiv chose August because it falls within the 50-day deadline of the ultimatum Trump issued to Russia on 14/7.

However, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said the purpose of the summit should be to sign an agreement, not to "discuss everything from scratch."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last met in 2019, three years before the conflict began.

Russian (right) and Ukrainian (left) delegations participate in talks in Istanbul, Turkey, on 23/7. Photo: AFP

Russian (right) and Ukrainian (left) delegations participate in talks in Istanbul, Turkey, on 23/7. Photo: AFP

This was the third direct negotiation between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey this year and also the shortest. Previously, expert-level delegations from both sides held two talks on 16/5 and 2/6, totaling less than three hours. These talks led to an agreement to exchange thousands of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers, but did not achieve the hoped-for ceasefire.

Medinsky said that in the latest meeting, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners each, and Moscow offered to return 3,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv.

"We once again proposed to the Ukrainian side a short-term ceasefire of 24-48 hours in the combat zone so that medical teams can attend to the wounded and commanders can retrieve the bodies of their soldiers," Medinsky added.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side said they wanted an immediate and longer ceasefire.

President Trump on 14/7 gave Russia a 50-day ultimatum to accept an agreement to end the conflict with Ukraine, or face tariffs and sanctions.

However, sources close to the Kremlin said Putin was unfazed by the warning. They added that Russia plans to continue the war in Ukraine until Moscow achieves its stated goals of eliminating all root causes of the conflict.

The "root causes" Russia refers to include the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, protecting the Russian-speaking community in the Donbas region, countering NATO's eastward expansion, and ensuring Kyiv's neutrality. Recently, Russia declared it would continue to control the four annexed Ukrainian provinces, a claim Kyiv firmly rejects.