Kyiv is working with Turkish and Israeli officials as mediators to finalize a location and framework for peace negotiations with Russia, Ukrainian presidential adviser and negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said Sunday.
"When it is worked out, there will be a meeting. I think it won't take long for us to get there," he said on national television.
Podolyak also said Sunday that he thought progress could be made at talks with Russia in the coming days as the Russian side had become more constructive. "We will not concede in principle on any positions. Russia now understands this. Russia is already beginning to talk constructively. I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of days," he said in a video posted online.
RIA news agency quoted a Russian delegate, Leonid Slutsky, as saying the talks had made substantial progress.
"According to my personal expectations, this progress may grow in the coming days into a joint position of both delegations, into documents for signing," Slutsky said.
Neither side indicated what the scope of any agreement might be.
Their public comments were issued almost at the same time. They came on day 18 of the war, which began when Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what the Kremlin terms a "special military operation."
Maintaining its neutral and balanced stance, Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing the Turkish Straits.
Through Turkey’s intense diplomatic efforts, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met for the first time since Russia started its invasion of Ukraine on March 10 in Turkey's resort town of Antalya, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than 2.5 million people have fled the fighting. Ukraine has said it is willing to negotiate but will not surrender or accept any ultimatums.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday there had been some "positive shifts" in the talks but did not elaborate. On Saturday, the Kremlin said the discussions between Russian and Ukrainian officials had been continuing "in video format."
