Europe denounces Kremlin’s stance as Moscow, Kyiv hold 1st direct talks in 3 yrs
Russia and Ukraine on Friday held their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations that officials and observers expected to yield little immediate progress on stopping the 3-year-old war.
While the two sides were sitting at a U-shaped table for talks, they are far apart in their conditions for ending the war. US President Donald Trump, who has pressed both Moscow and Kyiv for an end to the conflict, saying a meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”
In Istanbul, a Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov sat down opposite a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the session by urging the parties “to take advantage of this opportunity,” adding that it was “critically important that the ceasefire happens as soon as possible.”
During the talks, Moscow introduced “unacceptable demands” that had not been previously discussed, including calls for Kyiv’s forces to withdraw from large swaths of territory they control so a complete ceasefire to be implemented, the official said.
He said the Ukrainian side reiterated it remained focused on achieving real progress — an immediate ceasefire and a pathway to substantive diplomacy, “just like the US, European partners, and other countries proposed,” the official added.
Both countries engaged in diplomatic manoeuvring this week as they tried to show Trump that they are eager to negotiate, although he has expressed frustration over the slow progress and threatened to punish foot-dragging.
Russia and Ukraine agreed Friday to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, the head of Russia's delegation Vladimir Medinsky said after their peace talks ended. Such an exchange would be their biggest POW swap since the start of the war.
Meantime, Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.
In Tirana, Albania’s capital, at a European Political Community summit, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland agreed with Zelenskyy that Russia’s position in peace talks was “unacceptable” and also consulted with Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
Starmer made his comments in a brief joint statement with French President Macron, German Chancellor Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. “And so as a result of that meeting with President Zelenskyy and the discussion with President Trump, we are now closely aligning and coordinating our responses,” he said.
Will meet Putin soon, says Trump
Trump said on Friday he’s moving to set up direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as he can, after Putin opted to skip peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. “I think it's time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters. “He and I will meet, and I think we'll solve it or maybe not,” Trump said. “And if we don't solve it, it'll be very interesting.”
