(Photo: TASS)

The Turkish media outlet, Independent Turkey, cited diplomatic sources on Monday as saying that according to an announcement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, has conveyed to Russia a proposal to hold the next meeting between the two delegations this week.

A source within the Russian negotiating team confirmed the information to Russia’s RIA news agency, adding that signals from Kyiv are raising hope that negotiations may take place soon. However, no specific details regarding the venue, timing, or members of the delegations have been made public.

Russia and Ukraine have already held two rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul. The main outcomes are agreements on the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers. In addition, the two sides exchanged a draft MoU on solutions to end the three-year conflict.