Russian and Ukrainian delegations must meet again this Monday in Istanbul (Türkiye), in the perspective which still seems distant to put End of war launched by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow and kyiv had already committed to first direct discussions on May 16 in the Turkish metropolisbut the meeting had been not very successful, the two countries engaging only on an exchange of large-scale prisoners.
The new cycle of negotiations must start this Monday at 1 p.m. Monday (12 noon in Paris) at the Palais Ciragan, an Ottoman imperial residence on the banks of the Bosphorus that has become a luxury hotel since.
What are the positions of both camps?
The Head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov Most of the phone on Sunday on Sunday with his American counterpart Marco Rubio about these talks, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry quoted by the TASS agency. Russia had announced that it would present a “memorandum” of its conditions for a peace agreement, which it refused to transmit in advance to Ukraine as kyiv claimed.
The two parties are very far from an agreement, whether a truce or a longer term regulation. Ukraine’s priorities are “a complete and unconditional ceasefire”, and the “return of prisoners” And Ukrainian children kyiv accuses Moscow of having kidnapped, said Ukrainian president, Volodyr Zelensky on Sunday on social networks. He also wants a direct meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Perspective that the Kremlin has repelled several times.
We continue to propose a full and unconditional ceasefire, along with all rational and dignified steps that could lead to a lasting and reliable peace. The Ukrainian proposal we presented to the Russians is logical and realistic.
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@zelenskyyua) June 1, 2025
Moscow refuses the “unconditional ceasefire” requested by kyiv and the Westerners and insists to settle what she calls the “deep causes” of the conflict, in reference to a series of maximalist requests. Russia requires in particular that Ukraine definitively renounces to join NATO and sell it the five regions whose annexation it claims.
These conditions are unacceptable for kyiv, which requires a pure and simple withdrawal of the Russian troops from its territory in return. Ukraine also wants concrete security guarantees, supported by Westerners, such as NATO protection or the presence of Western troops on the ground, which Russia excludes.
Who makes up the delegations?
The main Russian negotiator in Istanbul will be Vladimir Medinskian ideological advisor by Vladimir Putin who led the aborted negotiations of 2022, wrote textbooks justifying the invasion and called into question the right to the existence of Ukraine. The Russian president will not be present.
The Ukrainian delegation Will, she, led by the Minister of Defense Roustem Oumerov, considered as a fine negotiator but whose ministry remains entangled in scandals. “Diplomatic advisers” from Germany, France and Great Britain will be “on the ground (…) in close coordination with the Ukrainian negotiation team,” a spokesman for the German government on Sunday.
The war continues
The new meeting comes the next day one of the most daring and successful Ukrainian attacks ever led on Russian soilto Siberia. A vast coordinated drone assault against four Russian military aerodromes Has touched dozens of planes, including strategic bombers, according to Ukrainian security services (SBU).
This large -scale operation was carried out via drones introduced clandestinely into Russia, then launched on military bases. Its consequences on Russian military capacities are difficult to predict, but its symbolic scope is important in the context of negotiations.
On the ground on the other hand, kyiv is struggling, the troops of Moscow having progressed in recent days, especially in the Ukrainian region of Soumy (northeast). Russia might want to create a buffer zone there, to prevent Ukrainian incursions on its own territory, as last summer in the neighboring region of Koursk.
