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Ukraine aims to secure 'unconditional ceasefire' as Turkey hosts first direct Russia-Ukraine talks since 2022
Ruth Michaelson
Ruth Michaelson is in Istanbul for the Guardian, and brings this latest round-up of events from there:
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan spoke briefly as tripartite talks with Ukraine and Russia began in Istanbul. Images from the meeting were stark: A row of Russian delegates in dark suits, and opposite them Ukrainians wearing green camouflage combat fatigues.
“There are two paths today: One leads to peace, and the other will cause more destruction and loss of life. Both sides will choose which path to take,” Fidan told the negotiating teams.
“Hosting both sides shows our strong will to end the war,” he said. “We have an opportunity to end the war … in order to take the path of peace we need to take advantage of this opportunity. Every day causes more lives to be lost. While this war is claiming lives, it is critically important that a ceasefire happens as soon as possible.”
The meeting in Istanbul should “prepare for a meeting between the leaders,” he added, in a nod towards Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision not to attend the talks. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said previously that he would be willing to meet with Putin, believing that only a meeting with the Russian president can truly secure an end to the fighting.
Even so, Zelenskyy’s chief aide Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram that Ukraine aims to secure an “unconditional ceasefire” during talks today.
Ukraine aims to secure an “unconditional ceasefire,” at talks with Russian officials in Turkey, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide said. “The Ukrainian delegation is in Istanbul today to achieve an unconditional ceasefire - this is our priority,” he wrote on Telegram.
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Here is a reminder of the diplomats leading the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. Vladimir Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky is leading for Russia, while Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov will lead for Ukraine.
Here is a picture from earlier in the day, showing members of the Ukrainian, Turkish and US delegations together at Dolmabahçe palace.
Russia and Ukraine meet in first direct peace talks since 2022
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine have met in Istanbul for the first direct talks between the two nations since 2022, when a peace process was aborted just a few weeks after Russia staged its February 2022 full-scale invasion of the country.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, is quoted by Reuters as opening the meeting by saying he was happy to see that the will of the two sides had opened up a new window of opportunity for peace.
He said it was critical for a ceasefire to be agreed as soon as possible, and for the foundations to be made for a meeting of the two nation’s leaders.
More details soon …
Reuters has been informed the Russia-Ukraine meeting will start shortly. That is about an hour later than had been expected.
Russian media is reporting that Vladimir Medinsky has arrived at the Dolmabahçe palace for talks with the Ukrainian delegation. RIA reports a diplomatic source has told it that the head of Turkish intelligence İbrahim Kalın will join the talks.
Separately, Reuters is reporting that US secretary of state Marco Rubio is meeting with security advisers from the UK, France and Germany.
Tass reports that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had this to say about the prospect of a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
During his daily briefing, the Russian president’s spokesperson said a meeting between the pair was certainly necessary, but must be preceded by careful preparation.
He added that contacts between Putin and Trump are extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian settlement, and that any meeting between the two should involve a serious discussion of international affairs and regional issues, including Ukraine.
Ukraine accuses Russia of undermining peace talks with new demands
Peter Beaumont
Peter Beaumont is in Kyiv for the Guardian
Ukraine has accused Russia of undermining peace talks in Istanbul by making new demands to exclude Turkey and the US from discussions at the last minute.
As if to confirm the very low expectations of the direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey, the Latvia based Russian language news site, Meduza, is saying that it has seen a memo to Russian state controlled media reporting the meetings to talk down prospects of a breakthrough.
Instead the memo suggested the talks will end deadlocked with Russia facing the prospect of renewed European sanctions which – journalist should emphasise – “will not harm the country’s development” suggesting that it sees the talks as inevitably failing.
According to the report, which does not mention what Russia’s position at the talks is likely to entail, the memo instructs journalists to say that Ukraine’s position at the talks is worse than at the last direct talks in Istanbul in 2022.
More broadly, however, the presence of Russian’s president Vladimir Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky leading the Moscow delegation is seen as part of an effort to insist that the talks represent a continuation of the 2022 talks where the Kremlin insisted on Ukraine’s effective surrender.
Medinsky told journalists on 15 May that Russia considers the talks as a “continuation” of echoing Putin’s demand that any negotiations would be based on the April 2022 Istanbul protocols.
Versions of those draft agreements acquired by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times last year saw Moscow demanding Ukraine give up aspirations for Nato membership, adopt a position of neutrality in its constitution, and prohibit Ukraine from hosting foreign military personnel or weapons systems.
The claimed disclosure of Moscow’s news management strategy for domestic consumption comes amid reports that Russia was demanding that direct talks with Ukraine take place without US and Turkish representatives. A Ukrainian diplomatic source said the move showed Moscow was “undermining the peace effort”.
“Yet another sign of the Russian side undermining the peace effort. We came to have a serious conversation, while Russians are putting forward demands, conditions. This makes us doubt whether Putin sent them to solve issues or just stall the process,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
“There is only one reason for the Russians to be afraid of having the US in the room – they came to stall the process, not solve issues, and they want to hide this from the US.”
Expectations for the talks – initially proposed by Putin – sank after the Russian leader declined Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call to meet at the presidential level in Turkey. The presence of Donald Trump was also suggested, but the US president is returning to the US after his trip to the Middle East.
In Moscow, Dmitry Peskov has been giving the daily Kremlin press briefing. We will bring you any key lines that emerge.
This, via Reuters, is from a source in the Ukraine delegation, who accused Russia of “undermining the peace effort” by demanding changes to the format of this morning’s expected meeting.
Russia appears to have attempted to sideline the US and Turkish delegations and insist upon the meeting only featuring Russia and the country it invaded in 2022.
“Yet another sign of the Russian side undermining the peace effort. We came to have a serious conversation, while Russians are putting forward demands, conditions. This makes us doubt whether Putin sent them to solve issues or just stall the process,” the source told the news agency on condition of anonymity.
“There is only one reason for the Russians to be afraid of having the US in the room – they came to stall the process, not solve issues, and they want to hide this from the US.”
While we wait to see whether and in what format talks will take place in Turkey, Russia’s defence ministry has claimed its forces have taken control of the settlement of Vilne Pole in the east of Ukraine.
