Russia ready to resume Istanbul talks with Ukraine

Russia is willing to resume the negotiation process in Istanbul with Ukraine, director of the Second Department of CIS countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexey Polishchuk said.

Commenting on the prospects of restarting peace talks, the diplomat stressed that the ball is in Ukraine’s court.

"For the time being, Kiev has put the negotiations on a pause. Turkish officials have repeatedly called on them to resume those. The Russian team is ready for that, and the ball is in Ukraine’s court," Alexey Polishchuk said.

Earlier, Istanbul hosted three rounds of direct talks with Ukrainian officials, he recalled. Even as the conversation was not an easy one, the two sides reached major humanitarian agreements.  The two sides exchanged memorandums on their vision of resolving the conflict, Vedomosti reported.

Kiev has yet to respond to a Russian proposal on establishing three working groups as part of the Istanbul peace process, Polishchuk added.