Zelensky Names ‘Complete Ceasefire’ as Goal in Wednesday’s Istanbul Talks

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv will push for a “complete ceasefire” during Wednesday’s direct talks with Moscow in Istanbul.

Zelensky had previously omitted the item in his announcements regarding the talks.

On Wednesday, hours ahead of the talks slated to start at 7 p.m., Zelensky wrote on X that the Ukrainian delegation will push for a ceasefire.

“Ukrainians always rebuild what has been destroyed. And today, during negotiations in Türkiye, the representatives of Ukraine will once again insist on the need for an urgent and complete ceasefire, including a halt to such strikes on civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky wrote, after referencing the ongoing repairs in the Sumy region following Russian attacks.

On Monday, while announcing the talks, Zelensky named three “clear” agenda items for the talks that omitted any mention of a ceasefire.

“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.

Moscow, hours before the talks, said it aims to address the return of prisoners of war and a draft memorandum towards a ceasefire.

“The talks will begin in the evening. The parties are expected to focus primarily on finalizing draft memoranda and discussing exchanges,” a source told Russian state media TASS.

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As for Kyiv’s call for an in-person meeting between Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said it would not be possible without finalizing the so-called ceasefire memorandum.

“All the work necessary to finalize these memorandums is part of preparing for the meeting… Without completing this difficult groundwork, setting specific dates for a summit makes little sense,” Peskov said, as referenced by TASS.

Ceasefire vs draft memoranda for a ceasefire

Kyiv is now calling for an immediate ceasefire after Moscow renewed talks of a memorandum towards a ceasefire.

The prospect of a ceasefire initially prompted this year’s first round of Istanbul talks. Before the second round, Moscow rejected an immediate ceasefire but instead proposed an exchange of memoranda aimed at one.

The two eventually exchanged their memoranda for a ceasefire with terms that both deemed unacceptable, yielding no ceasefire.

The Ukrainian side proposed a full ceasefire on land, air, and sea for at least 30 days, the exchange of all prisoners under the “all for all” principle, the return of deported children, the release of civilian hostages, and international guarantees of Ukrainian territorial integrity.

It also calls for international monitoring mechanisms, legal recognition of Ukraine’s borders, compensation for war damage, and a future Zelensky-Putin meeting to finalize any deal.

The Russian side demands that Russia will only negotiate a ceasefire if Ukraine fully withdraws from the four partly Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, ceding territory with no Kremlin presence, in addition to terms such as Ukraine’s demilitarization that equate to Kyiv’s surrender.

Why the change of tone?

Experts expect little breakthroughs in the upcoming talks but suggest the rhetoric from Kyiv and Moscow indicates their attempts to curry favor with US President Donald Trump, who issued a ceasefire ultimatum to Moscow last week.

Olga Oliker, program director for Europe and Central Asia at the International Crisis Group, told Radio Liberty on Tuesday that both Kyiv and Moscow are likely using the talks to show the US their willingness to negotiate ahead of Trump’s 50-day deadline.

“I suspect both Kyiv and Moscow are looking to show the US, with its 50-day deadline and newfound willingness to sell, if not give, weapons to Ukraine, that they are…eager and willing to negotiate (and that any lags are therefore the fault of the other side),” Oliker told Radio Liberty.

A ceasefire appears to be back on the table – or at least, talks about one.