The two sides agreed to have a prisoner exchange of 1,200 people, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov said.

The warring sides remain far apart after the third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations on Wednesday. But there was progress on humanitarian issues.

A former Russian prime minister has said Vladimir Putin may be forced to agree a peace deal to end the war with Ukraine by the end of the year. Mikhail Kasyanov said Russia’s “contracting” economy meant the country’s president may have no option but to seek a settlement to stop the hostilities.