Russia and Ukraine will hold new peace talks on July 23 as a continuation of the two rounds in Istanbul, which did not achieve significant progress in ending the war.

This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, AFP reported.

"Today, I discussed with (Secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council) Rustem Umerov the preparations for the exchange and the next meeting in Turkey with the Russian side. Umerov announced that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday (July 23)," Zelensky said in his daily address.

He added that more details would be announced on July 22.

The opposing sides met in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 under pressure from the US to agree on a ceasefire. Despite the insistence of US President Donald Trump, no breakthrough was achieved.

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators have so far only agreed to exchange prisoners. Since then, Russia has launched intensive air strikes against Ukraine and seized more territory on the front line.

Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede four regions, in addition to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. The Kremlin is also insisting that Kyiv abandon its plans to join the NATO military alliance.

Ukraine rejects these demands and expresses doubts that Russia really wants a ceasefire.

After Trump gave Russia 50 days last week to negotiate an agreement or face heavy sanctions — and also resumed arms deliveries to Ukraine — the Kremlin announced it was ready for further talks.

The two sides exchanged ideas during earlier talks on what a peace deal might look like, but their positions remain far apart.

"There is a lot of diplomatic work ahead," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier, commenting on the prospects for a breakthrough. | BGNES