Istanbul (AFP) – Russia and Ukraine agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange, said they would trade ideas on a possible ceasefire, and discussed a potential meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in their first direct talks in over three years on Friday. However, coming out of the highly anticipated talks in Istanbul, which lasted just over 90 minutes, there were few signs of more significant progress toward ending the three-year war. Kyiv was seeking an “unconditional ceasefire” to pause a conflict that has destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people. Moscow has consistently rebuffed those calls, and the only concrete agreement appeared to be a deal to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.
The two sides said they would “present their vision of a possible future ceasefire,” according to Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky. They did not agree on any suspension of the fighting. “Overall, we are satisfied with the results and ready to continue contacts,” Medinsky said. Ukraine’s top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, stated that the “next step” would be a meeting between the two presidents. Russia said it took note of the request. “We understand that if we want to make progress, we need to have this meeting of leaders,” Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said later, praising the prisoner swap as a “great result”.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who presided over the meeting, mentioned that the sides had “agreed in principle to meet again” and would present ceasefire ideas “in writing”. Fidan sat at the head of a table in front of Turkish, Russian, and Ukrainian flags at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace for the talks, with Russian and Ukrainian delegations facing each other, as footage from the room showed. However, progress on more fundamental issues appeared minimal. Tykhy indicated that Russia had raised a number of “unacceptable demands,” with a source telling AFP that Russia had demanded Kyiv give up more territory — a strategy it claimed was designed to derail the negotiations.
Nevertheless, the fact that the meeting took place at all was a sign of movement, with both sides having come under steady pressure from Washington to open talks. Putin declined to travel to Turkey for the meeting, sending a second-tier team instead. Zelensky claimed Putin was “afraid” of meeting and accused Russia of not taking the talks “seriously”. At a European summit in Albania, the Ukrainian leader urged a “strong reaction” from the world if the talks failed, including new sanctions. Both Moscow and Washington have also talked up the need for a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump on the conflict. The leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Britain, and Poland held a phone call with Trump on Friday, Zelensky’s spokesperson said, without elaborating.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that European nations were coordinating with the United States on additional sanctions against Russia should Moscow continue to refuse an “unconditional ceasefire”. Trump has said “nothing’s going to happen” on the conflict until he meets Putin face-to-face, although Macron suggested “telephone contacts” could take place in the first instance.
Ahead of the talks, Ukrainian officials in Istanbul held meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg, and the national security advisors of Britain, France, and Germany. Rubio urged a “peaceful” end to the war and said “the killing needs to stop,” according to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce. During the talks, a Ukrainian source told AFP that Russia was advancing hardline territorial demands. Moscow claims annexation of five Ukrainian regions — four since its 2022 invasion, and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
“Russian representatives are putting forward unacceptable demands… such as for Ukraine to withdraw forces from large parts of Ukrainian territory it controls in order for a ceasefire to begin,” the source said. They accused Moscow of seeking to “throw non-starters” so the talks end “without any results”. Another source familiar with the talks indicated that Russia had threatened to capture Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions. Both regions border Russia and were invaded by Moscow’s army at the start of the conflict, although Russia has not previously made formal territorial claims over them. Russia has repeatedly stated that it will not discuss giving up any territory that its forces occupy. Putin last year called for Kyiv to withdraw from parts of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions that it still controls.
© 2024 AFP
