Questions about Ukraine Russia’s Dedication to Peace Negotiations Amid Plans for a Meeting in Istanbul Even as Moscow stated it would send a delegation for peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has questioned Russia’s sincerity in pursuing peace talks. One of Kyiv’s main demands has not yet been met by Russia in the form of explicit proposals.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated that talks in Turkey would center on Russia’s demands for a ceasefire. But Zelensky said Moscow was “doing everything possible to make the next meeting meaningless.” He pointed out, “For any meeting to be productive, it must have a clear agenda and the negotiations must be properly prepared.”
Ukraine reaffirmed its willingness for a complete and unconditional ceasefire and had previously sent its recommendations to Russia. A prisoner swap occurred at the first round of negotiations in Istanbul two weeks ago, despite the fact that no significant progress was made.
In February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin began a major military invasion of Ukraine. Currently, Russia occupies around 20% of Ukraine’s land, including the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed back in 2014.
On Friday, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed that Kyiv had already informed Moscow about its intentions moving forward. In order to open the door for more extensive talks, he insisted that Russia come to a “unconditional ceasefire” agreement.
Sybiha emphasized the importance of continuing the discussions, stating that Ukraine’s objective is to bring the war to an end within this year, during a joint press briefing with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Neither President Zelensky nor President Putin is expected to take part in Monday’s meetings. Fidan did point out that Turkey hopes to hold a high-level summit in the future.He expressed confidence that the moment had arrived to bring President Trump, President Putin, and President Zelensky together for direct negotiations.
Peskov noted that a meeting would only be considered if the preliminary talks showed meaningful progress, adding that Russia’s ceasefire proposals would remain confidential.
He applauded recent comments made by Trump envoy on Ukraine and retired U.S. General Keith Kellogg acknowledged that Russia has legitimate concerns regarding the expansion of NATO. Despite Kyiv’s long-standing desire to join a military alliance, General Kellogg stated that Ukraine is not now considering doing so.
Although he stressed the value of carrying on the conversation, he said that President Trump is annoyed by Russia’s inflexible position.
Trump and Putin had a two-hour phone conversation on May 19 about a ceasefire agreement that the United States had suggested to halt the conflict. Later, Trump called the discussion “very good,” announcing that direct talks between Russia and Ukraine on a ceasefire and “an end to the war” would soon start.
Putin just said that Russia will collaborate with Ukraine to prepare a “memorandum” on potential future peace, which Kyiv and its European allies view as a delay tactic to allow Russian forces to grab more Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has officially committed to a 30-day ceasefire agreement.
In a rare reprimand a few days later, Trump referred to Putin as “completely insane” and threatened to impose penalties from the United States. In response, Moscow carried out its largest missile and drone strike on Ukraine so far.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Germany’s incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz assured President Zelensky that Berlin would support Ukraine in developing long-range missiles to strengthen its defense against future Russian attacks.
Allowing Ukraine to increase the range of its missiles might result in a risky shift in strategy and possibly thwart attempts to resolve the crisis peacefully, the Kremlin warned.