Russia and Ukraine resume direct talks after three years without concrete progress

The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since March 2022 were held last Friday in Istanbul, with no tangible results in terms of a ceasefire. Although both sides agreed to a new prisoner exchange and opened the door to possible future meetings, Russian demands and the lack of high-level representation seriously limit progress towards peace.


At the end of the meeting, which lasted less than two hours and took place at the Dolmabahce Palace, the main achievements were a prisoner exchange — 1,000 for 1,000, the largest of the war so far — and two key points for future talks: a possible meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelensky, and a roadmap for discussing a ceasefire.


However, the gap between the two sides remains wide. By proposing these talks, Russia avoided an ultimatum from Ukraine and its allies demanding an unconditional 30-day ceasefire under threat of new sanctions. Ukraine, for its part, expressed its immediate willingness to agree to a ceasefire, according to Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. But he accused the Russian delegation of having a ‘limited mandate’ that prevented substantive agreements.

Furthermore, Moscow made it clear, according to a Turkish official quoted by CNN, that it would only accept a truce if Ukraine withdrew from territories it still controls in the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson — areas that Russia attempted to illegally annex in 2022. This condition is unacceptable to Kyiv and has been described by US Vice President J. D. Vance as a sign that ‘Russia is asking for too much.’


US frustration grew significantly. Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Istanbul after meeting with Ukrainian officials and harshly criticised the format and level of the talks. ‘We came because we were told there could be a direct confrontation between the Russians and the Ukrainians; that was originally the plan,’ he said. ‘That was not going to happen, or if it did, it was not at the levels we expected,’ he added.

As soon as the talks began, Zelensky called US President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland. In a message on social media, Zelensky insisted that Ukraine is ready to ‘take the fastest possible steps to achieve true peace,’ but reiterated that if Russia rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire, severe sanctions must be imposed.


Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya said that ‘the provisional success of the negotiations has yet to be consolidated’ and stressed that international pressure on Russia must be maintained. Tykhyi, for his part, stressed that the exchange of prisoners ‘has already been worthwhile,’ calling it ‘a great achievement.’


However, Russia again rejected a ceasefire and refused to send high-level officials, while maintaining demands that are unacceptable to the United States and Europe. Despite this, Trump expressed his intention to meet with Putin ‘as soon as we can organise it’ and reaffirmed that ‘nothing will happen [on Ukraine] until Putin and I meet’.

Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky gave a positive assessment of the day's talks, saying, ‘We are satisfied with the result and ready to continue our contacts.’ Moscow sees this round as a continuation of the 2022 negotiations, when it demanded a neutral Ukraine, outside NATO, and with significant military cuts, terms that Kiev now considers totally unacceptable.


For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the Russian position ‘clearly unacceptable,’ while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the EU is working on a new package of sanctions.


For now, the next step is uncertain. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said the priority must be a meeting at the presidential level. Turkey, the host country, said both sides agreed ‘in principle’ to meet again. But everything points to any progress depending on a possible direct meeting between Putin and Trump, a possibility fraught with expectations but still without a date.