Russia said it expected talks with Ukraine in Istanbul later Wednesday to be “difficult”, downplaying expectations of a breakthrough at a meeting between the two sides after nearly three and a half years of war.
The two sides previously met in Istanbul in May and June, but managed to agree only on exchanges of prisoners and soldiers’ bodies.
US President Donald Trump last week gave Russia “50 days” to end the war or face sanctions, but the Kremlin has not indicated it is willing to compromise on its demands.
“No one expects an easy road,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about his expectations for the talks.
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“It will be very difficult,” he added.
Russia’s delegation arrived in Istanbul earlier this afternoon, Russian state media reported. Ukraine’s delegation first held meetings with Turkish officials in Ankara, a source in Kyiv’s delegation told AFP.
Ukraine said it hoped the two countries would discuss the release of prisoners and lay the ground for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“Everything will depend on whether Russia stops speaking in ultimatums and takes a constructive position,” a source in the Ukrainian delegation told AFP.
“This will determine whether results can be achieved at this meeting,” the source added.
Moscow has said that a lot of work is needed before even discussions can take place about possible talks between Putin and Zelensky, who last met in 2019.
The two sides have radically different positions for ending the conflict.
Russia has called on Ukraine to effectively retreat from the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed in September 2022, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.
Ukraine has ruled out any negotiations on territory until after a ceasefire and says it will never recognise Russia’s claims over occupied territory — including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Ukraine said former defence minister Rustem Umerov, who currently serves as security council secretary, would head its delegation.
The Kremlin said it would send political scientist Vladimir Medinsky to lead its negotiating team.
Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation in the two previous rounds of negotiation, is not seen as a powerful decision maker. He has been described by Ukraine as a puppet.
At the last talks on May 16 and June 2, the two sides agreed to large-scale prisoner exchanges.
They also exchanged their draft terms for ending the conflict, which the Kremlin said were “diametrically opposed”.
Wednesday’s talks come as the White House steps up pressure on Russia to agree a compromise.
Trump announced last week he was giving Russia until September to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or face bruising sanctions.
The US leader has been trying to broker an end to the war since his inauguration in January, but has failed to extract any concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated phone calls with Putin.
Russia has intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities, while advancing across several different areas of the front line.
Between late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia fired 71 drones at four different regions of Ukraine, said the Ukrainian air force.
The Russian defence ministry said Wednesday it had captured the village of Varachyne in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month called on both sides not to “shut the door” on dialogue.
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Russia said it expected talks with Ukraine in Istanbul later Wednesday to be “difficult”, downplaying expectations of a breakthrough at a meeting between the two sides after nearly three and a half years of war.
The two sides previously met in Istanbul in May and June, but managed to agree only on exchanges of prisoners and soldiers’ bodies.
US President Donald Trump last week gave Russia “50 days” to
end the war or face sanctions
, but the Kremlin has not indicated it is willing to compromise on its demands.
“No one expects an easy road,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about his expectations for the talks.
Follow The Standard
channel
on WhatsApp
“It will be very difficult,” he added.
Russia’s delegation arrived in Istanbul earlier this afternoon, Russian state media reported. Ukraine’s delegation first held meetings with Turkish officials in Ankara, a source in Kyiv’s delegation told AFP.
Ukraine said it hoped the two countries would discuss the release of prisoners and lay the ground for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“Everything will depend on whether Russia stops speaking in ultimatums and takes a constructive position,” a source in the Ukrainian delegation told AFP.
“This will determine whether results can be achieved at this meeting,” the source added.
Moscow has said that a lot of work is needed before even discussions can take place about possible talks between Putin and Zelensky, who last met in 2019.
The two sides have radically different positions for ending the conflict.
Russia has called on Ukraine to effectively
retreat from the four Ukrainian regions
Moscow claims to have annexed in September 2022, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.
Ukraine has ruled out any negotiations on territory until after a ceasefire and says it will never recognise Russia’s claims over occupied territory — including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Ukraine said former defence minister Rustem Umerov, who currently serves as security council secretary, would head its delegation.
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The Kremlin said it would send political scientist Vladimir Medinsky to lead its negotiating team.
Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation in the two previous rounds of negotiation, is not seen as a powerful decision maker. He has been described by Ukraine as a puppet.
At the last talks on May 16 and June 2, the two sides agreed to large-scale prisoner exchanges.
They also exchanged their draft terms for ending the conflict, which the Kremlin said were “diametrically opposed”.
Wednesday’s talks come as the White House steps up pressure on Russia to agree a compromise.
Trump announced last week he was giving Russia until September to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or face bruising sanctions.
The US leader has been trying to broker an end to the war since his inauguration in January, but has failed to extract any concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated phone calls with Putin.
Russia has intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities, while advancing across several different areas of the front line.
Between late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia fired 71 drones at four different regions of Ukraine, said the Ukrainian air force.
The Russian defence ministry said Wednesday it had
captured the village of Varachyne
in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month called on both sides not to “shut the door” on dialogue.
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channel
on WhatsApp
By AFP