Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he dispatched a delegation to Istanbul for the first direct peace negotiations with Russia in the past three years. However, he tempered hopes for progress, stating that Moscow was “not serious” about concluding the conflict.
President Vladimir Putin turned down Zelensky’s daring proposal to meet face-to-face during the talks, appointing his aide and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky to head the negotiations instead. Medinsky was also in charge of the unsuccessful peace talks with Ukraine that took place in 2022 shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion.
As Russian negotiators arrived in Istanbul on Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry indicated that they were “ready for serious work,” although specifics of the talks remained unclear just hours before they were set to commence.
Zelensky confirmed after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara that Ukraine would be represented by a delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. However, he mentioned that he would not be attending the discussions in Istanbul as Putin opted not to take part.
Earlier, Zelensky expressed skepticism regarding the composition of Russia’s negotiation team.
“Nothing has been officially confirmed, but from what we’ve seen, it seems more like a theatrical performance than a serious endeavor,” he was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “What we do know for certain is who truly makes decisions on the Russian side.”
Joining Medinsky in Istanbul are Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, and Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency. The Kremlin stated that a group of expert advisors, including senior officials from the Foreign and Defense Ministries and the presidential administration, would also participate.
A video released by the Kremlin showed Putin meeting with the negotiating group late Wednesday. Several key officials were present at that meeting, including Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, and Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov.
Ahead of the talks, Medinsky told state media that Russia was “prepared for potential compromises and discussions.” Later in the day, he characterized the ongoing talks as a “continuation” of the peace negotiations that collapsed in April 2022.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha was in Antalya for a NATO meeting on Thursday, where he had discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Rubio remarked at the NATO gathering that Washington was becoming “impatient” due to stalled peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine and was willing to explore “virtually any mechanism” to achieve a lasting resolution to the conflict.
“Clearly, we find ourselves in a very challenging situation, and we hope to identify steps that lead to a negotiated end to this war and prevent future conflicts,” the Secretary of State stated.
In Istanbul, a crowd of reporters gathered outside Dolmabahçe Palace, where the talks are believed to be taking place. Turkish officials have not confirmed the location of the discussions, while Russia’s Foreign Ministry indicated they would start sometime in the afternoon or evening on Thursday.
Both Ukraine and Russia are striving to demonstrate to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has advocated for a swift resolution to the war, that they are dedicated to achieving a diplomatic solution.
However, months of U.S.-led shuttle diplomacy and multiple rounds of mediated negotiations have not brought the warring sides any closer to a peace agreement than they were prior to Trump assuming office in January.
Trump, currently on a tour of the Middle East, expressed uncertainty on Thursday about attending the talks in Turkey. “I was contemplating going, but it’s very challenging,” he remarked at a business breakfast in Qatar. However, he seemed to retract those comments later as he traveled to Dubai, stating that “nothing’s going to transpire until Putin and I convene.”
Putin proposed direct discussions with Kyiv during an unexpected conference at the Kremlin early Sunday, effectively dismissing a Western-supported 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that was scheduled to start on Monday. European leaders had warned Russia of new sanctions should it decline to endorse the truce.
Zelensky initially appeared to surprise Moscow by agreeing to the talks and subsequently heightened the stakes by challenging the Kremlin leader to meet face-to-face in Istanbul, a notion Trump supported.
Nevertheless, Russian officials told The Moscow Times this week that Putin was not inclined to accept Zelensky’s proposition for a personal meeting at this point, viewing the Ukrainian leader as unequal and indicating he would only agree to meet if Zelensky publicly capitulated.
“Zelensky is only fit for signing a capitulation. That’s it,” a Russian diplomat stated on the condition of anonymity.
Putin and Zelensky have had only one encounter, at the Normandy Four summit in Paris in 2019, where the countries sought to find a resolution to five years of conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Those discussions, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, failed to yield any significant outcomes.
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials have alleged that Ukraine is governed by a “neo-Nazi” regime, demanding the country’s “denazification” and “demilitarization,” frequently invoking World War II history to justify their current military objectives.
Putin has repeatedly referred to Zelensky as an illegitimate leader. In March, he called for Zelensky’s removal from power and proposed that a UN-backed transitional government be established in Ukraine.
Reports were also contributed by AFP and Reuters.
