Russian, Ukrainian Delegations Meet for First Direct Talks in Türkiye

Addis Ababa, May 16, 2025 (ENA)— Russian and Ukrainian officials have opened direct peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye today for the first time in more than three years.

Delegations from the two countries have sat down for their first direct talks in three years.

However, many political commentators are arguing that hopes for a breakthrough at the meeting in Türkiye remain limited.

Turkish television showed the negotiators sitting down, together with Turkish representatives, in the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the meeting had begun.

However, optimism is low that the negotiations could produce significant progress towards a ceasefire, after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face to face in Türkiye.

Zelenskyy said he was sending a team headed by his defence minister to Istanbul for the talks, even as he said that the Russian delegation did not include “anyone who actually makes decisions”, accusing Moscow of not making efforts to end the war.

Russia’s team is headed by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister, who said that he viewed talks with Kyiv as a “continuation” of failed negotiations in 2022.