RUSSIAN and Ukrainian negotiators met today, May 16, in Istanbul for their first face-to-face peace talks in over three years, amid mounting pressure from United States (US) President Donald Trump to bring an end to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
This was revealed in a Turkish television live footage announcing the negotiation, as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan delivered an opening speech to commence the meeting.
The ICIR reports that the meeting marks a rare sign of diplomatic progress between the warring parties, who had not held face-to-face talks since March 2022, just a month after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Last weekend, major leaders in Europe, with Trump’s support, endorsed an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine and warned President Vladimir Putin of ‘massive’ new sanctions if he failed to comply within days.
At a meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, May 10, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine agreed to begin the ceasefire on May 12, following a phone call with Trump.
However, expectations for a major breakthrough in this ongoing meeting diminished further on Thursday, May 15, after Trump stated that no progress would occur without a direct meeting between him and the Russian President.
Wrapping up his Middle East tour and returning to Washington, Trump said on Friday that he would meet with the Russian leader “as soon as we can set it up”.
Outlining Kyiv’s key demands, the head of Ukraine’s delegation stated that peace could only be achieved if Russia agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, the return of abducted Ukrainian children, and a full exchange of prisoners of war.
Meanwhile, Russia has expressed its desire to end the war through diplomatic means and signalled its readiness to discuss a ceasefire. However, it has also voiced several concerns, warning that Ukraine might use the pause to regroup its forces, mobilise additional troops, and secure more Western weapons.
Ukraine and its allies accused Putin of delaying the process, arguing that he was not genuinely committed to achieving peace.
Although Putin proposed the direct talks in Turkey, he declined Zelensky’s challenge for a face-to-face meeting. Instead, he dispatched a team of mid-level officials, prompting Ukraine to appoint negotiators of a similar rank in response.
The ICIR reports that both nations have continued to trade blame over the ceasefire negotiations.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, were also in Istanbul, where a series of separate meetings occurred earlier on Friday.
On Thursday night, Rubio told reporters that given the level of the negotiating teams, a major breakthrough was unlikely.
“I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’m 100 per cent wrong. I hope tomorrow the news says they’ve agreed to a ceasefire; they’ve agreed to enter serious negotiations. But I’m just giving you my assessment, honestly,” he said.
Russia announced on Friday it had seized another village in Ukraine amid its slow, grinding advance in eastern Ukraine. Just minutes before the Istanbul talks began, Ukrainian media reported an air raid alert and explosions in the city of Dnipro.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.