President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv has three main priorities for the upcoming talks with Moscow: the return of prisoners of war, the repatriation of children abducted to Russia, and an in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky announced on Saturday a new round of direct negotiations with Moscow. Turkish media said the talks might happen on Wednesday and Thursday in Istanbul.
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Zelensky, in a Monday X update, named Kyiv’s three priorities.
“The agenda from our side is clear: the return of prisoners of war, the return of children abducted by Russia, and the preparation of a leaders’ meeting,” Zelensky wrote.
“I urge you to inform your host countries of the importance of this negotiation framework and to ensure the necessary political support for Ukraine,” he added, addressing the country’s newly appointed ambassadors.
Zelensky did not mention ceasefire as a potential point of discussion.
Moscow, in response to media reports about the tentative dates set for the meeting, first said they have not been finalized before adding that the parties are discussing the viability of hosting it on Thursday and Friday, according to Russian state media TASS.
The proposed talks would mark the third round of direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow this year.
In late June, former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv’s delegation to Istanbul, told reporters that a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin remained a key objective for Ukraine in the talks.
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Third time’s the charm?
US President Donald Trump has been trying to mediate an end to the war, which eventually led to the Istanbul talks this year that bore little fruit.
In March’s US-mediated talks in Saudi Arabia, Kyiv and Moscow said they agreed to a partial ceasefire on energy and the Black Sea, which fell apart without an explicit agreement between the parties, with both accusing each other of violations.
The West then called for intensified sanctions on Moscow if the latter failed to comply with an unconditional ceasefire by May 12, but later said Moscow had one week to show progress before proceeding with new sanctions.
In response to the ultimatum, Putin proposed resuming the Istanbul talks – following a failed negotiation in the same location in 2022 – to which Zelensky accepted and called for Putin’s personal attendance.
Putin was a no-show, and the talks did not result in a ceasefire as intended after Moscow sent a historian to head the delegation.
Another Istanbul meeting took place, also without a ceasefire.
The talks did, however, yield large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of soldiers killed.
But after Putin reiterated his maximalist position on Ukraine during a recent call with Trump, the latter has ostensibly altered his stance in Ukraine and issued a 50-day ultimatum for Moscow to move toward a ceasefire or face crushing sanctions and secondary tariffs.
Whether the threats have any impact on Moscow remains unclear, as its aerial campaign continues to pound Ukrainian cities without pause.
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