Moscow and Kiev have not held direct negotiations since meeting in Istanbul in April 2022 FILE PHOTO: The Russian-Ukrainian talks at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul in April 2022. © Getty Images / Cem Ozdel The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years are scheduled to take place in Türkiye’s largest city, Istanbul, on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered on Sunday to resume direct dialogue between Moscow and Kiev to find a lasting settlement that would address the root causes of the conflict. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who had previously ruled out any talks with Moscow, only agreed to attend following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of his support for talks, his claim that Kiev should accept it “immediately,” and that he is also ready to travel to Istanbul. While Zelensky has insisted he would only speak with Putin directly, the Russian president has so far given no indication that he is planning to travel to Türkiye. Moscow and Ukraine last held direct talks in April 2022, also in Istanbul. Following reports that an agreement had been reached, Kiev unilaterally withdrew from the talks. President Putin later blamed Western interference and, in particular, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had urged Kiev to ”just continue fighting,” for derailing the peace process. Russia, which had withdrawn its forces from the outskirts of Kiev as a goodwill gesture, later accused Ukraine of backtracking, saying it had lost trust in Ukraine’s negotiators. 15 May 2025 09:40 GMT Vladimir Zelensky has arrived in Ankara, where he is expected to hold a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After leaving the plane, the Ukrainian leader claimed that the seniority of the delegation sent by Moscow to the talks with Kiev in Istanbul was insufficient. Russia will be represented at the meeting by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin. Zelensky said that he will make further decisions on negotiating with Russia after his discussions with Erdogan. He also added that Kiev remains in constant contact with Washington regarding the peace process. Vladimir Putin will not attend the direct talks between Moscow and Kiev in Istanbul this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. When asked by journalists if there was a chance of the Russian president traveling to Türkiye, Peskov gave a short answer, saying: “no.” The start of direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations has been rescheduled for the second half of the day at the initiative of the Turkish side, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Initial media reports suggested that the negotiations could begin at 10am local time in Istanbul (7am GMT). UK national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, is expected to travel to Türkiye to provide background advice to Zelensky, the Guardian has reported. The outlet described the possible negotiations in Istanbul as “an unpredictable meeting in an unclear format.” Powell’s advice to Zelensky would be not to do anything that alienates Donald Trump, but encourage the US president to realize that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is an obstacle to peace, according to the British publication. In a piece for the online newspaper Gazeta.ru, and translated and edited by the RT team, Russian journalist and political analyst Vitaly Ryumshin has taken a pessimistic view of the upcoming talks. According to Ryumshin, two main issues will hinder significant progress being made: the conditions for real peace talks simply don’t exist, and the poor track record of previous efforts. Read the full article here. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has confirmed that the Russian delegation has arrived in Istanbul. This corroborates earlier reports from an RT correspondent and a TASS source. Moscow’s negotiators are “ready for serious work,” Zakharova said during a briefing. US President Donald Trump has said he could still travel to Türkiye if progress is made during direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. “You know, if something happened, I would go on Friday,” the US president told journalists in Qatar. US President Donald Trump and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al Thani attend a signing ceremony at the Amiri Diwan, the official workplace of the emir. © Getty Images / Win McNamee Russian President Vladimir Putin led a high-profile meeting on Wednesday evening as part of preparations for direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Kremlin press-secretary Dmitry Peskov has said. Besides the members of the Russian delegation – presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin – the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Aleksandr Bortnikov, chief of the Russian National Guard Viktor Zolotov and Secretary of the Security Council Sergey Shoigu, according to the spokesman. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky plans to hold a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara later in the day, and only after that decide what steps to take regarding talks with Russia, an unnamed senior official has told AFP. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said President Donald Trump is open to any mechanism that would result in a just peace in the Ukraine conflict, Reuters has reported. Washington expects to see progress made during the talks between Russia and Ukraine in the next couple of days, Rubio, who was speaking ahead of an informal meeting of foreign ministers in Türkiye, stressed. More
