Third round of Ukraine-Russia talks expected in Turkey
Ukrainian and Russian officials could meet in Istanbul on Wednesday for a third round of peace talks, their first meeting in more than seven weeks amid US pressure to reach a ceasefire.
Expectations of a breakthrough are low
The two sides previously met in May and June, but failed to agree an end to the nearly three-and-a-half year war.
The Kremlin has not explicitly confirmed it will attend on Wednesday, but cautioned earlier not to expect any “miraculous breakthroughs” if it does.
The two sides have wildly different positions for ending the conflict.
Russia has called on Ukraine to effectively retreat from the four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed in September 2022, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.
Ukraine has ruled out any negotiations on territory until after a ceasefire and says it will never recognize Russia’s claims over occupied territory -- including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, has ravaged parts of eastern and southern Ukraine and resulted in tens of thousands of military and civilian deaths.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped the two sides would discuss the release of prisoners and prepare a meeting between himself and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Moscow has said that “a lot of work” is needed before even discussions can take place about possible talks between Putin and Zelenskyy, who last met in 2019.
50 days
Ukraine said former defense minister and current security council secretary Rustem Umerov would head its delegation.
The Kremlin said it would send political scientist Vladimir Medinsky to lead its negotiating team.
Medinsky, who led the two previous rounds of negotiation, is not seen as a powerful decision maker and has been described by Ukraine as a puppet.
At the last talks on May 16 and June 2, the two sides agreed to large-scale prisoner exchanges.
They also exchanged their draft terms for ending the conflict, which the Kremlin said were “diametrically opposed.”
The potential talks come after US President Donald Trump last week gave Russia “50 days” to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or face bruising sanctions.
Russia has intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian cities in recent weeks and claimed advances across several different areas of the front line.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month called on both sides not to “shut the door” on dialogue.
