Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will take place today at 5:00 p.m. Moscow time (which coincides with Bulgarian time), the TASS agency reported. Earlier, Trump himself also confirmed the information, BTA reports.
Peskov specified that the conversation will take place “taking into account the results of the negotiations in Istanbul“. Although no ceasefire agreement was reached, the Istanbul meeting represents the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since spring 2022.
According to the latest information reported by Bloomberg, the Russian delegation, led by Vladimir Medinsky, has insisted that Ukraine accept the status of permanent neutrality. This includes a ban on the presence of foreign troops and weapons of mass destruction on its territory. Moscow has also set other conditions, including Kiev's refusal of future demands for war reparations and recognition of the territories annexed by Russia - Crimea, as well as parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions - as part of the Russian Federation. In addition, the Ukrainian army is expected to completely withdraw from these regions.