Ukraine and Russia sit down for talks: What was decided in Istanbul
Photo: The Ukrainian delegation was led by Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov (Getty Images)
In Istanbul, the first direct talks in three years between Ukraine and Russia on ending the war have concluded. The parties did not reach an agreement on a 30-day ceasefire but agreed on a large-scale exchange in a 1,000-for-1,000 format to take place in the near future.
RBC-Ukraine has compiled the main statements from Ukrainian and Russian representatives following the meeting in Istanbul, as well as international reactions to them.
What the Ukrainian side said
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov
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An exchange in the 1,000-for-1,000 format has been agreed upon and will take place in the near future. The date has already been set, but it will not be disclosed.
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All modalities of a ceasefire were discussed, but details will be shared later.
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The possibility of a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Vladimir Putin was raised, and work is underway to organize it. This meeting is expected to be the next step in the negotiations.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi
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Russia made "unacceptable demands" during the talks in Istanbul, but the Ukrainian side will not disclose their content. Some of these demands had not been raised by the Russians before. (A journalist from The Economist reported that Russia demanded Ukraine withdraw its troops from the entire territory of the partially occupied regions and threatened to occupy two more).
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During the negotiations with Russia, Ukraine stood its ground and kept steering the discussion back to issues that matter to Ukrainians.
What the Russian side stated
Head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky
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The Russian side is satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations and is ready to continue contact.
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Russia confirms the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange will take place in the coming days.
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The Russian side has taken note of Ukraine’s request for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin.
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Ukraine and Russia are to prepare a ceasefire plan. Each side will present its detailed vision of the truce, after which negotiations will continue.
Photo: Vladimir Medinsky heads the Russian delegation (Getty Images)
How the world is reacting to the talks
Türkiye
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after the Istanbul talks that Ukraine and Russia have "principally agreed" on a new meeting. According to him, Türkiye will continue to make efforts to achieve lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.
France
French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Twitter (X) that Putin does not want a ceasefire and is trying to buy time to continue the war against Ukraine.
Germany
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the meeting in Istanbul "a very small but first positive signal." He said Europe and the US must work to establish peace on the European continent.
United Kingdom
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that Russia demonstrated a "clearly unacceptable" position during the talks in Istanbul.
Italy
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni emphasized that the talks in Istanbul showed who truly wants peace. She called for an immediate ceasefire from Russia to reach a peace agreement with security guarantees for Ukraine.
Photo: The world reacts differently to the talks in Istanbul (Getty Images)
Why the talks did not take place on May 15
As is known, after demands from the leaders of the US, Germany, France, the UK, and Poland for Russia to immediately agree to a ceasefire, Putin proposed holding talks with Ukraine in Türkiye without preconditions. In response, Zelenskyy stated he was ready to meet face-to-face with Putin in Istanbul on May 15.
However, unlike Zelenskyy, the Russian President did not want to attend the talks in person. Instead, he sent a low-level delegation composed of deputies and assistants. The final decision on whether to conduct talks at this level was made by Zelenskyy only last night after he met with Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
As a result, the meeting between Ukraine and Russia began at noon on Friday and lasted about an hour. Zelenskyy did not participate in the talks; the delegation was led by Ukraine's Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov.
Before this, the Ukrainian delegation met with representatives of US President Donald Trump’s administration. Media also reported that the Russians, at the last moment, opposed the participation of US representatives in the talks between Russia and Ukraine.
RBC-Ukraine closely followed the developments of today’s talks in Istanbul. Read the details at the link.
Sources: statements from Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, aide to Russian President Vladimir Medinsky, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, the Turkish Foreign Minister, as well as material by The Economist journalist Oliver Carroll.
