On 16 May 2025, Istanbul was the location of the very first direct talks in three years between Ukraine and Russia. The negotiations, however, broke down without unexpected results.
The talks did not deliver breakthrough initiatives, but the two sides agreed on a 1,000-by-1,000 prisoner-of-war exchange, already a step in reducing tensions. The exchange has to take place within weeks under international supervision, the envoys said.
The Ukrainian team in Istanbul was led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. A 30-day unconditional ceasefire was demanded by Ukraine and it suggested signing a deal with international security assurances. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video message said that Ukraine was prepared to have direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin and that any compromise on the question of the territorial integrity of the country was not acceptable. Kiev continues to see the return of all the occupied territories, including Crimea, as its key goal.
The Russian side, represented by presidential aide Vladimir Medinskyy, refused to negotiate a truce on Ukraine’s conditions. Moscow insists on withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions and legal recognition of Russian authority over the above-mentioned regions. In addition, the Russian side expressed interest in direct talks with the United States and proposed a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
So far, the real and sustainable request to end the conflict today comes primarily from US President Donald Trump. And this initiative comes not from the strategic interests of the state, but rather from Trump’s own personal political ambitions: a desire to surpass his predecessor Joe Biden, to strengthen his own image as a strong leader on the international stage, and perhaps to go down in history as a peacemaker.
Nevertheless, until a realised and collective demand for an end to the conflict emerges among key political elites – in Russia, Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, as well as in China and Turkey – the prospects for real peace talks remain dim. In this context, any current diplomatic initiatives, despite their importance as first measures, do not yet go beyond symbolic gestures and tentative attempts to find possible common ground.
