RussiaUkraine talks yield few results in Istanbul

The first direct diplomatic talks between Ukraine and Russia in more than three years yielded few significant results on Friday, deepening worries that the war will continue for the foreseeable future.

The meetings, held in Istanbul and hosted by Turkey, lasted less than two hours. The only agreement reached was to exchange 1,000 prisoners as a confidence-building measure.

“They also agreed to share with the other side in writing the conditions that would make it possible to reach a ceasefire,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a statement. “The parties also agreed in principle to meet again.”

It remains unclear when the second round of talks will be held, as the Russian delegation is expected to leave Istanbul later this evening.

Neither Turkish nor Ukrainian officials had high hopes for the talks after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a low-level, mostly technical delegation, while Ukraine was represented by its foreign and defence ministers.

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The United States, in a separate meeting with Ukraine and Turkey, was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Russians also declined to include a US representative in the direct negotiations, reportedly rejecting the participation of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning chief.

“What do they have to hide from the Americans?” a Ukrainian official reportedly said. “This may show that the Russians are not ready for serious peace steps and simply wish to stall the process.”

'How long are you ready to fight?'

Multiple reports indicated that the Russians made substantial land demands from Ukraine as a condition for agreeing to a ceasefire.

The demand included four regions that Russia formally annexed in 2022 but failed to entirely seize - an area twice the size of Lebanon and home to more than a million Ukrainians.

A well-placed source told The Economist that Moscow also threatened to seize two more regions, Kharkiv and Sumy, if Ukraine does not withdraw from those areas.

“We don’t want war, but we’re ready to fight for a year, two, three - however long it takes. We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?” Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, reportedly said during the negotiations.

“And Peter the Great… you know who financed him? England and France. Sweden would still be a great power today if not for that.”

Medinsky, however, told the media after the negotiations that Moscow was satisfied with the results and was ready to continue talking to Kyiv.

"In general, we are satisfied with the result and are ready to continue contacts. In the coming days, there will be a massive thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange," said Medinsky, according to Reuters.

"The Ukrainian side requested direct talks between the leaders of the states. We have taken note of this request," he added.

"We have agreed that each side will present its vision of a possible future ceasefire and spell it out in detail. After such a vision has been presented, we believe it would be appropriate, as also agreed, to continue our negotiations.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the other hand, said after a phone call with European leaders and US President Donald Trump that pressure on Russia must be maintained.

"Our position is, if the Russians reject a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings, tough sanctions must follow," Zelensky said on X.

The European Union threatened to impose more sanctions against Russia until Moscow commits to an unconditional ceasefire for a month. 

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