Kremlin confirms imminent Russia-Ukraine talks
Russia and Ukraine are poised to hold their third round of bilateral talks in Istanbul to discuss settlement of the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed. The negotiations are scheduled to begin at 7pm Moscow time (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Peskov confirmed that the Russian delegation, headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, had already departed for Türkiye.
The talks, he added, “will mainly focus on issues related to those draft memorandums that were exchanged during the second round, and also a discussion on the continuation of a very important process of mutual [POW] exchanges.”
Asked about Moscow’s expectations, Peskov cautioned against early predictions. “It’s hardly possible to talk about this now. We need to see how it goes,” he said. “No one expects an easy path. Naturally, this will be a very difficult conversation. The draft proposals are diametrically opposed.”
On the possibility of a future meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Peskov noted that “it’s hardly appropriate to talk about scheduling a summit” before negotiating teams make any notable progress.
During the previous meeting, Russia reiterated its longstanding position that Ukraine recognize the loss of five of its former regions that joined Russia in public referendums, withdraw its forces from them, commit to neutrality, and limit its own military capabilities.
It also proposed a pathway to a ceasefire on the condition that Ukraine halt troop movements, suspend mobilization, stop foreign weapons shipments, and hold a presidential election.
Ukraine has dismissed the overture as an unacceptable “ultimatum” and continues to refuse to agree to any territorial concessions. Kiev also insists it should retain the option of full NATO membership and receive “robust security guarantees” backed by Western countries.
While the talks failed to yield any decisive breakthroughs, they did result in a series of prisoner swaps. The sides also exchanged the remains of deceased soldiers, with Russia handing over more than 6,000 bodies of Ukrainian service members while receiving 78 of their own.
