Zelenskyy hails 'positive' Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Turkey
A Ukrainian soldier secures the area next to the regional government headquarters of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, March 29, 2022. (AP Photo)


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the latest round of discussions with Russia, which took place in Turkey on Tuesday, could be referred to as "positive," but noted that the enemy continues to invade Ukraine.

"The signals we hear from the negotiating platform can be called positive," Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account.

"But these signals do not drown out the ruptures of Russian shells."

The president said they see "all the risks" and "no reason to trust the words of certain representatives of a state that continues to fight for our destruction," warning that "Ukrainians are not naive people."

"Ukrainians have already learned during these 34 days of invasion and over the past eight years of the war in Donbass that only a concrete result can be trusted," he said.

The fresh round of talks in Istanbul lasted for three hours, and the Russian and Ukrainian negotiators later held separate press briefings to inform the world about the outcome.

While Ukraine has called for several countries, including Turkey, to be guarantors in a possible future peace deal, Russia has announced that it will significantly decrease military activities in the direction of the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase trust for future negotiations.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine in what it called a "special military operation" on Feb. 24. The war has been met with international outrage and Western countries have imposed tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,179 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,860 injured, according to estimates by the United Nations, which has said that the true figure is likely far higher.

More than 3.9 million Ukrainians have also fled to several European countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.