After days of confusion and theatrics, direct peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators took place on Friday in Istanbul for the first time since the start of the war and resulted in an agreement to conduct what would be the largest prisoner swap of the conflict.
After the negotiations, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes, the leaders of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations confirmed in news briefings that they had agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each in the near future.
The short talks, mediated by Turkey, focused mainly on Ukraine’s demand for a ceasefire before any substantive peace negotiations got underway.
“We agreed that each side would present its vision of a possible future ceasefire and would spell it out in detail,” said Vladimir Medinsky, the Kremlin aide leading the Russian delegation. “After such a vision is presented, we believe it would be appropriate to also agree to continue our talks on this.”
Medinsky also said that his team would take back Ukraine’s request for direct negotiations between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. He did not commit to arranging such a meeting.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv’s delegation, confirmed that the teams discussed the prisoner exchange, a ceasefire and the possibility of organising a meeting of the two leaders.
Putin, however, has taken aim at Zelensky’s legitimacy for months and would most likely be loath to meet the Ukrainian leader.
Zelensky, during a trip to a summit in Albania, accused Putin on Friday of being “afraid” to meet him in person and turning the Istanbul talks into a “staged, empty process”. He demanded new sanctions against Russia’s energy sector and banks until Moscow engaged in what he called serious diplomacy.
“Pressure must continue to rise until real progress is made,” Zelensky said.
President Emmanuel Macron of France said on Friday that Russia had no desire for a ceasefire and that “increased pressure from the Europeans and Americans” would be required to obtain one.
Zelensky and Macron, alongside the leaders of Britain, Germany and Poland, held a phone conversation with Trump about the matter on Friday, according to Serhiy Nikiforov, the Ukrainian President’s press secretary, who did not release additional details.
New York Times News Service