For the first time since peace negotiations collapsed in 2022, Russian and Ukrainian delegations convened in Istanbul on Friday to revive dialogue aimed at ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
While hopes for a breakthrough remain slim, the renewed contact — facilitated under mounting pressure from Washington — signals a potential diplomatic shift after more than three years of brutal warfare that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
Ukraine’s top priority at the meeting is securing an “unconditional ceasefire,” according to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. In contrast, Moscow insists the talks must address what it calls the “root causes” of the war — language that echoes the Kremlin’s longstanding demands for sweeping territorial and political concessions from Kyiv.
A Turkish foreign ministry source initially said the talks would begin at 09:30 GMT, although the exact timing appeared to be fluid. Despite the fragile state of negotiations, analysts say the very act of sitting down at the table reflects a glimmer of progress.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had earlier proposed the meeting, opted not to attend in person. Instead, he dispatched a lower-tier delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister who also led Russia’s failed 2022 talks with Ukraine. Ukrainian officials were quick to criticise the move, arguing that the Russian representatives lack the authority to make substantive decisions.
President Zelensky, who arrived in Ankara on Thursday, reiterated his willingness to meet Putin directly but expressed frustration with the Kremlin’s approach.
“Russia has sent people who have no mandate to make meaningful decisions,” a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.
Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had earlier suggested he might attend the Istanbul meeting if Putin were present or if progress seemed likely, announced he would return to Washington from Abu Dhabi. “Only a direct meeting between me and Putin can move the needle,” Trump claimed.
U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg and European security officials met with the Ukrainian delegation ahead of the talks. Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who hails from Crimea — the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 — is leading Kyiv’s team.
“The Ukrainian delegation is in Istanbul today to achieve an unconditional ceasefire — this is our priority,” Yermak said following consultations with Western officials.
However, Western leaders expressed scepticism about Russia’s commitment. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte criticised Moscow’s decision to send a second-tier delegation, calling it a “serious misstep.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas went further, accusing the Kremlin of “clearly avoiding peace.”
Despite criticism, Russian envoy Medinsky claimed the delegation had a mandate from President Putin “to find possible solutions and points of contact.” He framed the Istanbul talks as a continuation of the 2022 negotiations, suggesting that Russia’s maximalist demands remain unchanged.
“Russia has consistently maintained that it will not entertain discussions about relinquishing any occupied territories,” Medinsky said.
While the negotiations were underway, Russia’s Defence Minister Andrei Belousov visited Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, underscoring Moscow’s continued engagement with key allies even as talks unfolded.
On the battlefield, hostilities persisted with Ukraine reporting Russian strikes that killed at least two civilians in the hours leading up to the Istanbul talks. Kyiv has accused Moscow of using such attacks to undermine peace efforts.
Ukraine and Russia last engaged in direct talks in March 2022, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. That round of negotiations failed, and the war has since escalated into a drawn-out conflict, with Russia currently occupying about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
