The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed that peace talks between Ukraine and Russia ended after just under two hours. 

Pope Leo offered to act as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia to arrange for peace in Ukraine, according to Italian media outlet RAI.

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said on Friday that Leo could be made available for a meeting between the two countries so they could “at least talk.”

“The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face-to-face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace,” Leo said Friday.

Parolin added that the Holy See could be a “very suitable place.”

After the talks in Istanbul on Friday, the two nations agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to Russian Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky.

This exchange would be the largest between Russia and Ukraine since 2022.

Medinsky also said Moscow and Kyiv agreed to send each other detailed proposals for a ceasefire deal.

The meeting was the first time representatives from the two countries had met since 2022, just after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. 

There were delegations from Russia and Ukraine, but neither country’s leaders attended. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with Medinsky. President Donald Trump considered attending the talks during his trip to the Middle East this week, but ultimately decided not to.

At the beginning of the meeting, Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan described the negotiations as “technical talks” that will lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between the two countries’ leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Putin called for direct talks after he rejected Ukraine’s call for a 30-day ceasefire. Zelensky quickly said he was ready to meet, saying he would not meet any Russian official except Putin. In this meeting, Ukraine requested a meeting between heads of state. Russia said it would consider that, with Medinsky adding that Russia is ready to continue talks.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Istanbul on Friday after attending a NATO meeting in another Turkish city.