(MENAFN) Russia is signaling its willingness to restart negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, but Kyiv has yet to respond to earlier proposals, Russia’s chargé d’affaires in Türkiye, Alexey Ivanov, said Wednesday.

“The Russian side has repeatedly emphasized that we are ready to continue direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side. Our Turkish partners have also consistently stressed that the Istanbul platform remains available to us — these doors remain open,” Ivanov told a Russian news agency.

He noted that Moscow had previously submitted multiple initiatives, including plans to establish three online working groups, but “unfortunately, we have not yet received a positive response from the Ukrainian side.”

Ivanov added that Russia remains open to talks “if Kyiv shows political will.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, who heads Kyiv’s delegation for direct negotiations with Russia, arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday.

“These days, I will be working in Türkiye and the Middle East to unblock the exchange process. There was an agreement, and we need to implement it,” he wrote on Telegram, describing his visit’s goal to resume the exchange of prisoners of war.

Earlier this year, Russia and Ukraine conducted three rounds of renewed peace talks in Istanbul, agreeing on the transfer of prisoners and civilians, and exchanged memorandums outlining strategies to end the war that erupted in February 2022.

Moscow’s proposals included three online working groups focused on political, military, and humanitarian issues, but progress appears to have stalled.

In addition to Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar to a lesser degree, have assisted in mediating humanitarian exchanges between the two countries.

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