Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv discussed the possibility of a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during their talks in Istanbul this week, Zelensky said in comments released Friday.
Ukraine has been pushing for a meeting between the two leaders and has expressed hope that Donald Trump, who has been pushing for the warring parties to strike a deal, could also take part.
Putin has said he is ready to meet Zelensky but only during a "final phase" of negotiations on ending the three-year war.
"We need an end to the war, which probably begins with a meeting of leaders," Zelensky told reporters including AFP.
"In talks with us, they have begun to discuss it. This is already progress toward some kind of meeting format," he added.
At a fresh round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov proposed to hold the talks before the end of August.
The timing would roughly align with a deadline set by US President Trump, who earlier this month gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or face sweeping sanctions.
Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, however, downplayed the likelihood of an imminent meeting.
"The meeting must be properly prepared. Only then will it make sense," Medinsky was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency TASS.
Deals on Patriots, drones
Talks on ending the conflict have so far yielded few results as the two sides have radically different positions, while Ukraine has accused Russia of sending low-level officials with no real decision-making power.
Russia has called on Ukraine to effectively retreat from the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed in September 2022, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.
Ukraine has ruled out any negotiations on territory until after a ceasefire and says it will never recognize Russia's claims over occupied territory -- including Crimea, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014.
Zelensky said Russia was still attempting to advance on several parts of the front, without any major breakthroughs.
Ukraine has been pleading with its Western backers to send weapons for its troops and to withstand daily Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities.
As part of a deal that allows European states to buy US weaponry and give it to Kyiv, Zelensky said his country was working to secure funding for 10 Patriot air defense systems.
"The President of the United States will be transferring, selling these systems to us. Our task is to find funding for all 10 systems," Zelensky said.
He added that Ukraine had already secured funds for three systems -- two from Germany and one from Norway.
Zelensky also said that Washington and Kyiv had agreed on a deal worth between $10-30 billion dollars for Ukraine to provide drones to the United States.
This would represent a departure from Ukraine's unofficial stance against weapons exports.
"With America and President Trump, we agreed that they will purchase drones from us. This agreement is in place," Zelensky said.
'Listened' to protesters
Zelensky said he was "focused on the issue of the war because right now, the number one issue in Ukraine is the war."
But he has been facing protests, spurred by the adoption of a law revoking the independence of two anti-corruption agencies.
The adoption of the law triggered the biggest public protests in Ukraine since Russia's invasion and drew criticism from Kyiv's European allies.
"It is absolutely normal to react when people don't want something or when they dislike something," Zelensky said.
"For me, it was very important that we listened and responded adequately," Zelensky added.
The government has since submitted a bill aimed at restoring the independence of the anti-graft bodies -- the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
It remains to be seen whether parliament, mostly loyal to Zelensky, will approve the draft law.
The controversial law drew criticism from Kyiv's European allies, who worry the move could undermine anti-corruption reforms key to Ukraine's bid to join the European Union.
"We want to be part of Europe. No one is willing to take any risks," Zelensky said.
By Barbara WOJAZER/AFP
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