Image source, Reuters

Russian and Ukrainian delegates have met for the second round of peace talks as negotiations continue.

The first direct talks between the two countries since the start of the war in 2022 were held only last month - and resulted in an agreement for a prisoner-of-war exchange.

Today's negotiations will see further prisoners released after officials confirmed that all sick and heavy wounded prisoners of war and those younger than 25 would be exchanged.

The Ukrainian negotiators said Russia again rejected an "unconditional ceasefire" - a key demand by Kyiv and its allies in Europe and the US.

The Russian team said it had proposed a two-to-three day truce "in certain areas" of the vast front line, and that next week Russia would hand over to Kyiv the bodies of 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

Ukraine has received a "memorandum" from Russia detailing proposals for reaching a lasting ceasefire - they say they will "study" it before commenting.

Elsewhere, Zelensky appeared alongside Nato members in Vilnius, where he accused Moscow of "playing games" and called for further sanctions.

We'll be ending our live coverage shortly, but for more head to our news story.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, reporting from Istanbul

Image source, Turkish Foreign Ministry

Russia is still refusing to meet Ukraine’s demand to cease fire on land, at sea and in the air for at least 30 days.

Instead, Russia prefers to talk about “lasting peace” and its proposals for it are contained in the memorandum handed to the Ukrainians today.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, says Kyiv will now take a week to review it and decide on further steps.

Neither side was willing to give any more details of what exactly is in the Russian memorandum.

There is also no sign of progress on Kyiv’s demand for a meeting between presidents Zelensky and Putin.

Talking to the press throughout the day, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said it is Vladimir Putin who makes key decisions in Russia, so Kyiv wants to speak to him.

Overall, both delegations said they were happy with today’s talks in Istanbul.

In the words of Tikhy speaking after the talks: “If a meeting lets us bring back people, any number, then we think it’s a success.”

Russia and Ukraine have concluded their second round of peace talks, which came after the two countries traded overnight attacks.

While the meeting was under way in Istanbul, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky joined a summit with the leaders of Nato's eastern and Nordic members in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Russia and Ukraine remain far apart after second round of talkspublished at 16:28 British Summer Time 2 June

16:28 BST 2 June

Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Istanbul

Image source, Turkish Foreign Ministry

After a second round of direct talks, which lasted just over an hour in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart.

Russia, again, rejected one of Ukraine’s key demands, of an unconditional ceasefire before discussing the terms of a long-term deal.

Ukraine suspects Russia is not really interested in pausing the conflict and ending the war, and the head of the country’s delegation, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the key points could only be resolved at face-to-face talks between President Zelensky and President Putin.

He suggested that such a meeting should happen by the end of the month.

Both sides are under pressure from President Trump to reach a deal: Ukraine needs US military support while Russia wants the easing of economic sanctions, and some believe that is how Moscow is engaging in these talks, without a clear intention of striking a truce.

Ukrainian officials say Russia is planning a summer offensive, possibly to try to seize more Ukrainian territory. Meanwhile, Russian officials continue to voice demands that Ukraine have already rejected as unacceptable.

Speaking in Lithuania, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, again, called for further sanctions against Russia saying that unless pressure was applied, President Putin would just play games with everyone who wanted the war to end.

We're also hearing from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who says his country will take steps to facilitate a meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

Erdogan says he hopes the two leaders will agree to meet "in Istanbul or Ankara" - and for US President Donald Trump to join them.

"If they accept, I would like to come together with them in this meeting and thus turn Istanbul into a peace centre," he says. "We will take steps towards this after this last meeting."

As we mentioned earlier, Russia and Ukraine discussed a potential meeting between their leaders during today's peace talks in Turkey/

Image source, Reuters

The head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky says Russia offered Ukraine a two to three day ceasefire on certain parts of the frontline so that bodies can be collected.

Medinsky adds that Russia passed on a memorandum to Ukraine on reaching lasting peace and full ceasefire.

As a reminder, over Easter Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 30-hour truce with little notice. Each side subsequently accused the other of breaking the truce.

Ukraine has repeatedly called for a 30-day ceasefire while negotiations on a longer term peace agreement take place.

Image source, EPA

We're now hearing from the Russian delegation in Istanbul.

Russia has agreed to hand over the remains of 6,000 soldiers to Ukraine, Russian delegation leader Vladimir Medinsky says.

The bodies will be returned next week, he adds.

Image source, EPA

Let's momentarily turn back to Lithuania as we await comments from the Russian delegation in Istanbul.

We heard from several European leaders and the head of Nato following a summit in Vilnius - here is a look back at some of the key lines:

• Speaking about the Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected more prisoners of war to be exchanged with Russia
• He added that Nato needed to send a message that "Russia will not get anything from this war"
• Polish President Andrzej Duda warned that Nato was facing "critical threats from Russia", adding it must do "everything it can" to deter the Kremlin
• While Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Putin talked "about peace during the day and then he's bombing at night" and emphasised the need to invest in collective security
• Secretary General of Nato, Mark Rutte, warned that "we're facing the most dangerous security environment in decades"
• But leaders at the summit downplayed concerns that there could be a reduction in US capabilities on Nato's eastern flank

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has said that Ukraine handed Russia a list of children who "need to be returned" during today's meeting.

He suggests this concerns "hundreds" of children underlining that their return is an "integral part" of achieving peace in the long run.

"The ball is in Russia's court. True good faith is not words, but actions. And now is the time to prove it."

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, reporting from Istanbul

Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi says they have received Russia's memorandum, but they need to "study it" before deciding on "further steps".

He adds that it would be "irresponsible" to comment before going through it.

Tykhyi says that more meetings make sense if they pave a way for Zelensky and Putin to meet.

He adds that Ukraine is ready for a "full ceasefire".

"You can have diplomats speak when guns are silent. Russia continues to reject it" Tykhyi says.

Scarlett Barter
Reporting from Istanbul

Image source, Scarlett Barter/BBC

Deputy Ukrainian Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsya said the Russian side continued to reject an unconditional ceasefire.

The Ukrainian delegation also criticised Russia again for not allowing the United States to partake in this meeting or the meeting that took place last month.

They say there is a need for someone to monitor the talks and the United States are the best placed to this.

They reinforce they didn’t receive the document until the meeting had started, so could not examine the proposal and see what Russia was demanding.

They say a ceasefire is the base. "When the weapons are silent we can discuss."

From there they feel they can build on an agreement.

We can now bring you some initial reaction to today's talks in Istanbul from the Ukrainian side.

Defence Minister Rustem Umerov says Ukraine has now received Russia's memorandum, adding that the delegation will now take a week "to decide further steps".

He confirms the two sides have "agreed to exchange all seriously wounded or ill, all combatants aged 18-25". The bodies of dead soldiers will also be returned.

Umerov adds that they've also discussed a potential meeting between Zelensky and Putin, possibly also involving Trump at the end of the month.

"We are calling for real work to end this war – ceasefire, humanitarian actions, leaders’ meeting. If Russia is serous, it will agree. If not, sanctions must follow," he says.

The Ukrainian delegation, led by Ukraine Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, has been spotted walking out of Ciragan Palace after a second round of peace talks with Russia in Turkey.

Image source, Reuters

The conference only takes one question from the press - and the leaders are asked about concerns there could be a reduction in US capabilities on Nato's eastern flank.

The Lithuanian president answers first, saying he won't make assumptions based on rumours but says the US focus on Europe is a very important element of the "collective security".

Poland's President Duda says he has spoken with Trump and US officials and has "no information" regarding any withdrawing of US forces.

While Nato chief Rutte insists the US is still committed to Nato and Article 5, which states that an attack on one Nato member is considered an attack on all.

Image source, Reuters

Secretary General of Nato, Mark Rutte, welcomes the message of commitment from the summit and says it sets a good example for other Nato members.

He says it is clear the commitment to "collective defence is strong".

"We're facing the most dangerous security environment in decades," adding that "Russia's war of aggression persists and terrorist threats persist".

"We are not at war, but we are not at peace either," he says.

Rutte says Nato members need to be at war-fighting readiness.

Continuing, Frederiksen says that "until now, we haven't seen any signs" that Russia is committed to peace.

As a result, she says, "our key task" must be putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position "on the battle field or at the negotiating table".

The President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, then says that today's discussion was in part to prepare for the summit in three weeks time in the Hague.

He says allies agreed today that there is need for a stronger Nato, a stronger transatlantic connection, more defence spending and that the production of military equipment needs to be increased.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen then warns that the threat from Russia is "real and serious".

"Putin is talking about peace during the day and then he's bombing at night," she says, adding there's now a more aggressive Russian approach in the Baltic Sea region.

She emphasises that there's "only one way forward", which is investing massively in collective security.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Zelensky finishes off by saying that talks in Istanbul have concluded and says he expects more prisoners of war to be freed.

Zelensky says Putin shouldn't be allowed to decide who can and cannot join Nato, as his "appetite for war will only grow".

He stresses that their shared goal should be to completely end "Russia's hunger for aggression".

Zelensky says Nato needs to send a message that "Russia will not get anything from this war".

"We all need to work together to make this doable," he says.

President Zelensky goes on to say that there must be “a new level of pressure, new sanctions - and not just from Europe” should today’s talks in Istanbul fail.

He calls for joint sanctions "at the G7 level," including from the US and "everyone in the world who wants peace".

Sanctions are necessary to "seriously limit trade," he says, and without them "Putin will just keep playing games".

We're now hearing from President Volodymyr Zelensky, who begins by saying it's important to be here in the Lithuanian capital.

"We all want the same thing. To stop the Russian war and bring real peace," he adds.

He goes on to say that the leaders who attended the summit spoke about "Operation Spider's Web", adding that it shows why it's important to stay ahead when it comes to technology.

Our efforts are making Europe stronger, he says.