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Ukraine demands Zelensky-Putin talks, Russia proposes brief truces
Ukraine on Wednesday proposed direct talks within weeks between its President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin, but Moscow tempered prospects for progress at a fresh round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday.
A Russian negotiator said his country agreed to the latest in a series of prisoner exchanges with Ukraine and proposed brief ceasefires allowing dead and wounded soldiers to be recovered.
Host country Turkey urged steps towards a lasting ceasefire and peace deal, but the Kremlin played down any expectations of a breakthrough after three-and-a-half years of war.
Ukraine's lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, told reporters: "Priority number one is to organise the meeting of the leaders, of presidents", in comments after the talks.
He said Kyiv had proposed to hold the talks by the end of August, with US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also participating.
Moscow's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told reporters the sides had lengthy discussions but added: "The positions are quite distant. We agreed to continue contacts."
He said both countries agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war each and that Moscow offered to hand Kyiv the bodies of 3,000 killed soldiers.
"We once again proposed to the Ukrainian side... to establish short 24- to 48-hour ceasefires on the line of contact, so that medical teams are able to collect the wounded and so that commanders can come take the bodies of their soldiers," he added.
- Trump deadline -
The two sides previously met in the Turkish city in May and June, but at those talks managed to agree only on other exchanges of prisoners and soldiers' bodies.
Trump last week gave Russia 50 days to end the war or face sanctions, but the Kremlin has not indicated it is willing to compromise.
"No one expects an easy road. It will be very difficult," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about his expectations for the talks.
Opening the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said: "Our aim is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible."
He added: "The ultimate goal is a ceasefire that will pave the way for peace."
A source in the Ukrainian delegation told AFP ahead of the talks: "Everything will depend on whether Russia stops speaking in ultimatums and takes a constructive position.
"This will determine whether results can be achieved at this meeting."
Moscow has said a lot of work is needed before even discussions can take place about possible talks between Putin and Zelensky, who last met in 2019.
After the previous round of talks the sides exchanged their draft terms for ending the conflict, which the Kremlin said were "diametrically opposed".
The two sides have radically different positions.
Russia has effectively called on Ukraine to 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 recognise Russia's claims over occupied territory -- including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Russia's full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
- Russia claims advances -
Wednesday's negotiations come as the White House steps up pressure on Russia to agree a compromise.
Trump announced last week he was giving Russia until September to strike a peace deal with Kyiv or face sanctions.
The US leader has been trying to broker an end to the war since his inauguration in January, but has failed to extract any concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated phone calls with Putin.
Russia has meanwhile intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities, while advancing across several different areas of the front line.
Between late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia fired 71 drones at four different regions of Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said.
The Russian defence ministry said Wednesday it had captured the village of Varachyne in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, where Moscow has been advancing for weeks.
A Russian drone attack on the Sumy region cut power to more than 220,000 people earlier Wednesday, Zelensky said.
M.A. Pereira--JDB
