The Albany Gazette - Kremlin says Putin-Zelensky meeting possible only after agreement

The morning after the talks, a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying evacuated civilians in the eastern Sumy region killed nine people and wounded five, local authorities said.

"Yesterday, as on any day of this war, there was an opportunity to cease fire," Zelensky wrote on social media following the attack, adding that "Russia only retains the opportunity to continue killing".

He reiterated his call on Ukraine's allies to step up sanctions on Moscow. "Without stronger sanctions, without stronger pressure on Russia, there will be no real diplomacy there," the Ukrainian president said.

The first direct talks since the spring of 2022 -- shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion that February -- between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul resulted in a concrete agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.

Ukraine's top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the "next step" would be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Russia said it took note of the request.

"We consider it possible, but only as a result of the work and upon achieving certain results in the form of an agreement between the two sides," the Kremlin's spokesman told journalists during a briefing on Saturday.

Russia's top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky said that Moscow and Kyiv would "present their vision of a possible future ceasefire", without saying when.

The Kremlin said that first the POW swap must be completed and both sides need to present their visions for a ceasefire before fixing the next round of talks.

"For now, we need to do what the delegations agreed on yesterday" in Turkey, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that "this, of course, means first and foremost to complete a 1,000 for 1,000 swap."

- Fighting goes on -

On Saturday, there were few signs of any progress towards halting the fighting that has dragged on for more than three years, destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

Ukraine's Sumy border region has come under increasing deadly bombardments by Moscow since March when Ukrainian forces were pushed out of Russia's neighbouring Kursk region, which they had partially controlled since the summer of 2024.

Furthermore, two people were killed and 13 wounded in the southeastern Kherson region, after a Russian shelling hit a residential area and a truck carrying humanitarian aid on Saturday morning.

In the eastern Kharkiv region, right on the border with Russia, two people were killed and about a dozen were wounded as a result of Russian aerial attacks over the past 24 hours.

The latest attacks came after three people were killed in Russian strikes on Friday on Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and southeastern Kherson regions, as the talks were ongoing.

- 'Real steps' needed -

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was sure that US counterpart Donald Trump would "react" to Putin's "cynicism" on Ukraine following the deadly minibus attack.

Putin had declined to travel to Turkey for the meeting, with Zelensky accusing him of being "afraid" and Russia of not taking the talks "seriously".

"Yesterday in Istanbul, everyone saw a weak and unprepared Russian delegation with no significant powers. This must change. We need real steps to end the war," Zelensky said on Saturday.

The Ukrainian leader attended a European summit in Albania alongside the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland, among others, where he urged a "strong reaction" from the world if the Istanbul talks failed, including new sanctions.

French President Emmanuel Macron said European nations were coordinating with the United States on additional sanctions against Russia should Moscow continue to refuse an "unconditional ceasefire".

Both Moscow and Washington have talked up the need for a meeting on the conflict between Putin and US President Donald Trump.

Trump has said "nothing's going to happen" on the conflict until he meets Putin face-to-face.

During the Istanbul talks, a Ukrainian source told AFP that Russia was advancing hardline territorial demands that Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy called "unacceptable".

Moscow claims annexation of five Ukrainian regions -- four since its 2022 invasion, and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

(O.Garcia--TAG)