The Turkish Foreign Ministry and a senior Ukrainian official said that the first direct peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the early stages of Moscow’s 2022 invasion concluded in less than two hours.
Speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements, the official said that Kyiv accused the Kremlin at the meeting on Friday of making additional “unacceptable demands” to remove Ukrainian military from vast areas of territory. The official stated that there had been no prior discussion of the requests.
He said the Ukrainian side reiterated it remained focused on achieving real progress — an immediate ceasefire and a pathway to substantive diplomacy “just like the US, European partners, and other countries proposed”.
The head of Russia’s delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that the countries had agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each.
Such an exchange would be their biggest swap since the start of the war in 2022. Mr Medinsky also said Moscow and Kyiv agreed to provide each other with detailed proposals for a ceasefire.
Ukraine requested a meeting between heads of state, and Russia will consider that, he said, adding that Russia is ready to continue talks. The two sides sat at a U-shaped table but remained far apart in their conditions for ending the war.
US President Donald Trump, who has pressed both Moscow and Kyiv for an end to the conflict, said a meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up”.
“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Mr Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi as he wrapped up a trip to the Middle East.
In Istanbul, a Ukrainian delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov sat opposite a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Mr Medinsky, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, who published a photo of the meeting.
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan had opened the session by urging the parties “to take advantage of this opportunity,” adding that it was “critically important that the ceasefire happens as soon as possible”.
– Manoeuvring ahead of talks
Both countries engaged in diplomatic manoeuvring this week as they tried to show Mr Trump that they are eager to negotiate, although he has expressed frustration over the slow progress and threatened to punish foot-dragging.
On Thursday, Mr Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to meet face-to-face in Turkey.
Mr Zelensky accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level delegation.
Ukraine has accepted a US and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Mr Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Commenting on a possible Trump-Putin meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to indicate that momentum for such a summit is building.
He told reporters that top-level talks were “certainly needed”, but added that preparing a summit would take time.
– Fighting continues
Meanwhile, Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.
A Friday morning drone attack on the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk killed a 55-year-old woman and wounded four men, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, said.
All the victims worked for a municipal utility.
Russia’s invasion has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the UN says, and razed towns and villages.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died, and likely a larger number of Russian troops, officials, and analysts say. On the battlefield, one Ukrainian soldier said he was not hopeful that the talks would bring a swift end to the war.
“I don’t think they will agree on anything concrete, because summer is the best time for war,” he said, using only the call sign “Corsair” in keeping with the rules of the Ukrainian military.
“The enemy is trying to constantly escalate the situation.”
But he told AP that many of his comrades “believe that by the end of the year there will be peace, albeit an unstable one, but peace”.
Before the talks began, Ukrainian officials met with national security advisers from the US, France, Germany, and the UK to coordinate positions, a senior Ukrainian official told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk about sensitive matters.
The US team was led by retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, while Mr Umerov and presidential office chief Andriy Yermak represented Ukraine, the official said.
A three-way meeting between Turkey, the US, and Ukraine also took place, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said.
The US side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as Lt Gen Kellogg.
On Thursday, Mr Rubio said, “We don’t have high expectations of what will happen” at the Russia-Ukraine talks.
He said he believed a breakthrough was only possible in a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.
Mr Zelensky, meanwhile, was in Tirana, Albania, for a meeting with leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defence, and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war.
“If the Russian representatives in Istanbul today cannot even agree to that, to (a) ceasefire, to this necessary first step, then it will be 100% clear that Putin continues to undermine diplomacy,” Mr Zelensky said.
“If that’s not the case, there must be at least some result today, starting with a ceasefire.”
Gentle Reminder: Be careful not to assume that your strength is the reason you are standing. The one whom God keeps is the one who is kept.
Chychy Jonas
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Source: The AP News
