Ukraine calls for talks with Russia next week

Source: CNN World

Published 5:08 PM EDT, Sat July 19, 2025


CNN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he’s calling for a meeting with Russia next week to push forward ceasefire talks. Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, has already proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week, Zelensky said during his daily address on Saturday.

“The dynamics of the negotiations must improve. We need to do everything possible to achieve a ceasefire. The Russian side must stop avoiding decisions regarding prisoner exchanges, the return of children, and the cessation of killings,” Zelensky said. “A meeting at the leadership level is essential to genuinely secure peace. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting,” he added.

Meanwhile, Russian state media outlet TASS reported that a source close to Russia’s negotiating team confirmed that they had received Kyiv’s proposal for a meeting.

The last round of ceasefire talks in Istanbul ended swiftly in early June, with Russian and Ukrainian delegates meeting for barely over an hour before calling it quits. According to Russian state media, Russia put forward maximalist territorial demands as part of their preconditions for a ceasefire. Ukraine has previously refused to consider any territorial concessions in exchange for peace.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/19/europe/ukraine-calls-for-ceasefire-talks-russia-latam-intl