Ukraine-Russia Istanbul Talks Kick Off

The highly awaited direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul have started at 1:38 p.m. on Friday – a little later than the 12:30 p.m. initially scheduled, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.

Russian state media TASS earlier reported that the talks would start at midday. 

The talks mark the first direct negotiations between the two countries’ delegations after similar talks in Istanbul failed in 2022. Russian leader Vladimir Putin argued that the talks on Friday would be a resumption of the failed talks. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that the aim is to agree on a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, though the low-level Russian delegation likely lacks the authority to call for a ceasefire.

The Ukrainian delegation is headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, while the Russian delegation is headed by Kremlin hawk and former Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky. 

The US delegation, headed by State Secretary Marco Rubio, met with the Ukrainian delegation on Friday morning prior to the Kyiv-Moscow talks. 

The Russian delegation reportedly rejected the participation of US and Turkish mediators and insisted that the talks be conducted bilaterally with the Ukrainian delegation, RBC Ukraine reported, citing its own sources. 

Putin, who originally proposed the talks in response to the West’s ceasefire ultimatum, will not attend Friday’s talks. Neither will Zelensky, who criticized Putin for sending a “decorative” lineup instead of attending himself.

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Speaking to Kyiv Post in Antalya, where NATO’s top diplomats had gathered for informal ministerial during the past two days, two Western officials described today’s Istanbul meetings as “either a monumental mess or a very sophisticated, diplomatic game of chess.”

The West had earlier called for intensified sanctions on Moscow if the latter failed to comply with the unconditional ceasefire by Monday, May 12, but later said Moscow has this week to show progress before proceeding with the sanctions.

The Kremlin has asserted that the delegation will try to address the so-called “root causes” of its invasion in Istanbul, which in past references meant a neutered Ukraine.