ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE (MAY 16, 2025) (ANADOLU-ACCESS ALL) SHOTLIST 1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF THE UKRAINIAN DELEGATION RUSTEM UMEROV SAYING: Continued fight, but at the end of the day we need to finalize this war. So thank you.” 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UKRAINIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER SERGIY KYSLYTSYA SAYING: “Good afternoon everyone. It is potentially a very good end to a very difficult day that is a result of many weeks of work of our leaders, of the President of Ukraine, of the United States, of President of Turkey and our European partners, Prime Ministers and Presidents. The tentative success of today's negotiations is still to be consolidated. That means that the pressure on the Russian Federation must continue. We should not really relax at this point. And there are many issues that can be resolved if only the leaders can meet, because given the complexity of the issues and given the nature of the Russian Federation where practically every single issue that is at stake can only be resolved by President Putin. We are looking forward to having the summit sooner than later. The fact that one of the results of today's discussion is the possible exchange of 1,000 against 1,000 persons is an excellent news, potentially excellent news for 1,000 probably families in Ukraine. And if only for that result we had to go here guided by our leaders. Thank you.” 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) DEPUTY HEAD OF THE MAIN INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE OF THE UKRAINIUAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, VADYM SKIBITSKY SAYING: "Bringing our Ukrainian citizens home. The Russian side has agreed to transfer around 1,000 individuals in the near future, and the process is starting today. We are working on the lists of those individuals who will be returned to their homeland. We have normal working experience with the Russian side. You know that we have already retrieved the bodies of our fallen heroes. Therefore, we will do everything possible to ensure that every Ukrainian citizen returns home. We are waiting for them, we will welcome them, and accordingly, we will continue our work with the Russian side." 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPOKESPERSON FOR THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE, HEORHII TYKHYI SAYING: “Yes, of course, the Russian delegation has voiced a number of things which we deem unacceptable. We have a long experience of all kinds of talks with the Russians, believe me, since 2014 there were many rounds. So I would say that the Ukrainian delegation knows well how to handle all of the things that might be voiced from that side. And the Ukrainian delegation handled it in a calm manner, basically outlining our principal position and still staying with our line. So I can say that we are grateful to Türkiye, to President Erdogan for presenting this opportunity, this platform for the peace effort. We value Turkish engagement and role as a facilitator, as a very serious force in this world that can really help bring an end to the war. So we are most grateful. As to further a context, you heard the members of the delegation, they will be considered later. I will also emphasize that Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sbiga, together with the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, and with Rustam Umerov, they met with their Turkish counterparts today, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and the head of the intelligence organization Ibrahim Kalin, and they had a very substantive conversation, both about the Ukrainian-Turkish relations, but also about the peace efforts that we are trying to advance. Again, I can reiterate, there were a number of issues. Look, I will leave it to history, because still, these are negotiations. Probably it's not for me here to officially talk about the content to this extent that you want. I can again reiterate the general mood and the outcome and the outline of this conversation, that yes, there were a number of things that, of course, were unacceptable, but again, the Ukrainian delegation took it with a very calm posture, understanding that this is something that Russians usually voice, and we were keeping to our line, this is very important. Negotiations of Americans and Ukrainians. So, the day before, I think it was yesterday, yes, sorry, I mixed the... Wait, wait, I'm answering the previous question. Look, I instantly re-impatience, but people, just didn't. So, there were Ukrainian-American contacts here, at least three of them. Meeting between Minister Shbiga, Secretary Rubio, and Special Representative Kellogg in Antalya, then the meeting of advisors in the morning today, where there was Andriy Yermak, Sbiga, Umerov, and also Kellogg, General Kellogg, but also the trilateral with the Turkish side. So, I mean that all of this is well coordinated with the American side, we are in a good contact with them, we exchange views, we exchange positions, and we coordinate with the American side, and as far as I understand, the American side was already briefed by the Ukrainian side on the outcomes of the talks. Let's go briefly here.” 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) SPOKESPERSON FOR THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE, HEORHII TYKHYI SAYING: “I responded that I cannot disclose the content of the negotiations. That would simply be inappropriate. I can repeat once again in Ukrainian that there were indeed unacceptable demands raised, which we consider unacceptable. We were prepared for this; the Ukrainian delegation knew it would be like this. That’s why we maintained a very calm tone and firmly defended our position, explaining our stance. And we believe that the Ukrainian delegation handled this quite effectively and productively." 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPOKESPERSON FOR THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE, HEORHII TYKHYI SAYING: “Look, the Ukrainian delegation was sent here by President Zelenskyy with a clear agenda, which is number one ceasefire, full unconditional ceasefire. And I need to remind everyone that Ukraine agreed to such kind of a durable ceasefire back in March. We haven't received Russian "yes" on this basic point, so this was the priority issue for the Ukrainian delegation. This is logical because if you want to have serious negotiations, you need to have guns silent. This is logical, and all the peace -- you are covering all the conflicts in the world. You all know that this is how it works. You first make guns silent, and then you talk. So this was the point number one. The Russian delegation probably has limited mandate because our delegation was ready to have a ceasefire agreed today. The Russian delegation was probably not in such a detail on the ceasefire, but I think this discussion about the ceasefire will continue, and we will continue to press for a ceasefire. As Foreign Deputy Minister Sergei Kisvitsa said, there needs to be more pressure. We believe that as this process evolves, we need to see more pressure on Moscow to make them more willing to actually make some steps to -- for serious -- to advance serious peace process. And the second one item of the agenda is, of course, the leaders' meeting, because even the ceasefire, even things like this in Russia, only one person takes decisions. We all understand this. This is Putin. And, of course, you need him to decide on the ceasefire and other big issues. That's why President Zelenskyy said openly that he is ready for a direct negotiation with Putin. Putin did not show up here, but this issue was still discussed because we understand that if we want to make progress, we need to have this meeting of leaders, including on the ceasefire. I just answered this. We are -- we are working. We are pressing -- we are pressing for this, but we will see. It depends on the Russians. You need to ask the Russians about it. Yes, so both China and Brazil consistently supported the idea of a ceasefire. They have been stating about this years and years before. And we would like to see their support now and their voice in their dialogue with Russia because they have influence on Russia, to persuade them that the ceasefire, a full and durable ceasefire, not just a parade ceasefire or Easter ceasefire, a few full, durable, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, we are ready for all of that. So we would like them to use their authority to voice in their dialogue with Russia and persuade Russia this is something that you need to start with, the peace process. It's hard to tell, actually. I guess yes, but you would need to look at the exact -- you need to compare. You need to put it together into lists and then you will be able to compare because it's difficult. My feeling is that yes, it went even beyond what was previously -- previously was. Look, I already answered this question. I know this is something of interest for many reporters here, but I cannot really go into the substance of the negotiations. This is incorrect from the diplomatic point of view. I can say that yes, there were a number of demands on the Russian side which were, in our view, unacceptable. The Ukrainian delegation handled it calmly, basically stating our line and our principal positions and then bringing the discussion back to the points that are achievable, doable. And again, if we managed to agree on 1,000, 4,000 exchange, we think this was already worth it because we will make 1,000 Ukrainian families in our view. We'll make them happy. And this was already worth it, we think. This is a great achievement by the Ukrainian delegation. We need to give credit to the people whom you just listened because in these difficult circumstances they managed to reach this result. This is a great result for Ukraine and everyone else. Thank you, media. I cannot stay longer, but I will stay in contact with you.” ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE - MAY 16: Following trilateral peace talks mediated by Türkiye, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stated that the next step should be a leaders-level meeting to advance negotiations aimed at ending the war with Russia. The talks, held at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Presidential Office on Friday, May 16, brought together delegations from Ukraine, Russia, and host Türkiye in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict. Umerov emphasized that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had hoped for high-level discussions during the Istanbul meeting. While reaffirming Ukraine’s commitment to peace, Umerov noted that the country remains capable of continuing its defense. "Ukraine is focused on its people. We have the strength and capability to keep fighting. But at the end of the day, we must end this war," he said. A key outcome of the talks was an agreement on a 1,000-person prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya described the deal as "potentially excellent news for 1,000 families in Ukraine." Vadym Skibitskiy, Deputy Head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, confirmed that both sides would begin preparing lists of prisoners for exchange near the Kyiv region. " We have normal working experience with the Russian side," he said, adding that efforts would continue to bring all Ukrainian citizens home. Despite progress on the prisoner exchange, Ukrainian officials expressed frustration over Moscow’s refusal to engage on a ceasefire. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi called Russia’s silence "unacceptable," stating that Kyiv had been prepared to agree to a full ceasefire. "Ukrainian delegation was sent here by President Zelenskyy with a clear agenda, which is number one ceasefire, full unconditional ceasefire," Tykhyi said. " We haven't received Russian ‘yes’ on this basic point, so this was the priority issue for the Ukrainian delegation." He suggested that the Russian delegation may have had "limited authority" and stressed that only Russian President Vladimir Putin could make such decisions. "That’s why President Zelenskyy said openly that he is ready for a direct negotiation with Putin. Putin did not show up here," Tykhyi added. Ukrainian officials thanked Türkiye for facilitating the talks, with Tykhyi stating “We value Turkish engagement and role as a facilitator, as a very serious force in this world that can really help bring an end to the war." While no major breakthrough was achieved, the discussions marked a rare diplomatic engagement between the warring sides. Kyslytsya described the day as "potentially a very good end to a very difficult day" crediting weeks of coordination with Türkiye, the U.S., and European partners. Ukraine reiterated the need for sustained international pressure on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire and engage in meaningful negotiations. Officials expressed hope that a future leaders' summit could pave the way for further progress. Writing by Sibel Uygun