According to him, the proposal was made by Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and head of Kiev’s delegation to the Istanbul talks.

» NSDC Secretary Umerov said that he had invited the Russian side to hold the next meeting next week. The negotiations need to be sped up,» Zelensky said in a video address posted on his Telegram channel.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a TASS question on July 17 that Russia was awaiting Kiev’s proposals for the third round of talks.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated earlier that Moscow’s delegation was ready to travel to Istanbul for the third round of talks with Ukraine. Zakharova expressed hope that Kiev would act in the spirit of the agreements that had already been reached «and will continue the negotiation process.».