Trump says Ukraine-Russia talks making little progress

"We have Russia and Ukraine, which are making a little bit of progress," the US president said in response to questions from reporters regarding the advancement of peace talks.

Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations

As a reminder, Ukraine and Russia have held two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul in recent months. US representatives were not present at the meetings, even though it was Washington that had pushed for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed that the Russian delegation is allegedly ready for a third round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul after June 22.

According to her, the exact date of the meeting "will be determined in the near future."

Zakharova also said that during the talks, Moscow intends to discuss Ukrainian and Russian "memorandums" regarding a ceasefire and the end of the war. At the same time, the Kremlin stated that the Russian Federation does not intend to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine, claiming it "holds a strategic advantage."

Meanwhile, officials in Kyiv stated that the first two rounds of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia proved fruitless, and Ukraine still does not understand what could be discussed with the Russians at a third meeting.

Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko noted that the United States initiated the direct talks between Ukraine and Russia but later stepped aside. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that it was the Russian side that did everything possible to push the United States out of the negotiation process in Istanbul.

It is also worth noting that in recent days, Trump — who had previously supported Moscow’s role as a mediator in the Middle East conflict — advised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to start by ending the war that Russia launched in Ukraine.