Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul kick off with lowered expectations

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - ISTANBUL — Ukraine and Russia began their meeting in Istanbul on Friday, the first attempt at a ceasefire negotiation in a format that also includes representatives of the US and Turkey.

The head of Ukraine’s delegation Rustem Umerov said the Kyiv team already met with the US Special Representative Keith Kellogg, National Security Advisor to the UK Prime Minister Jonathan Powell, Foreign Policy and Security Adviser to the Federal Chancellor of Germany Günter Sautter and French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne.

Ukraine’s defense minister was accompanied by the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

Umerov said the sides coordinated their positions with their partners, and that "the Ukrainian side reaffirmed its commitment to peace efforts, emphasizing the constructive steps taken in recent weeks and months."

He reiterated that Ukraine is ready for a full and unconditional ceasefire and direct negotiations at the highest level, adding, "We have come to Istanbul to find real ways to a sustainable and just peace."

“Peace is only possible if Russia is willing to take concrete actions, including a full ceasefire for at least 30 days and humanitarian measures, such as the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children and prisoner of war exchanges based on the 'all for all' formula,” Umerov explained.

Attending the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Antalya, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington does not have high expectations for the Friday meeting outcome.

"Frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President (Donald) Trump and President (Vladimir) Putin," Rubio said.

But until that point is reached, this is how the Friday agenda looks: Rubio has already met Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in the morning. Separate meetings between Russian and US officials are expected on Friday as well, though Rubio said he would not meet with Moscow's delegates himself.

After that, Turkish and US officials first meet the Ukrainian delegation before the talks proceed in a trilateral format: Turkey-Ukraine-Russia.

The delegations are led by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.

Ukraine’s team are looking “to attempt at least the first steps toward de-escalation, the first steps toward ending the war – namely, a ceasefire,” according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comments on Thursday in Ankara.

There are doubts whether the Russian delegation has the mandate for this. But Vladimir Medinsky responded, saying that his team ‘has the power to make decisions’ at a brief press conference on Thursday in Istanbul.

Kyiv and its international partners, including the US, are urging Moscow to adopt an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as the first step toward a broader peace deal, a move that Moscow continues to reject.

Kyiv repeatedly said it hopes to discuss a possible ceasefire. The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said on Friday that it remains Kyiv’s "top priority".

Yermak also added that a direct meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, "who hasn’t arrived to Turkey for some reason," is an important issue for the talks in Istanbul.

Russia presented the meeting as the continuation of the 2022 talks and stressed the need to address what it sees as the "root causes" of the war, the term used by Russia to describe Ukraine’s NATO and EU aspirations, suspension of all foreign military support to Kyiv, as well as demilitarisation of Ukraine. — Euronews