Istanbul Friedens summit: Continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian discussions open

After the first direct conversations between Russia and Ukraine for three years, it has been open whether they will continue. The representatives of the conflict parties do not provide any concrete plans for further meetings and a possible point in time. However, at least Russia and the mediating Türkiye assume further conversations. Ukraine did not initially comment on it.

In the meantime, Russian and Ukrainian troops fought bitterly. In the northeastern tank area of ​​Sumy, nine people were killed in a Russian drone attack. Seven were injured, the region said. Accordingly, a drone hit a bus near the city of Bilopillja near the border.

On Friday, representatives of Moscow and Kiev under Turkish mediation spoke almost an hour and a half about a possible end of the Russian attack war. No agreement was reached via a ceasefire. The only tangible result was the agreement to replace 1,000 prisoners of war each. That would be the greatest exchange of this kind so far since the beginning of the war in February 2022. A precise time was not mentioned publicly. However, the exchange should take place “in the near future”, said Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umjerow.

On Friday, representatives of Moscow and Kiev under Turkish mediation spoke almost an hour and a half about a possible end of the Russian attack war. No agreement was reached via a ceasefire. The only tangible result was the agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each. That would be the greatest exchange of this kind so far since the beginning of the war in February 2022. A precise time was not mentioned publicly. However, the exchange should be “in the near future”, said Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umjerow.

The Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spread on the platform X after the conversation that the Russian and Ukrainian delegations had “in principle agreed” for further discussions. In Moscow, the head of the external committee in the Russian Parliament, Leonid Sluzki, made it clear that he is expecting a quick decision about new rounds of talks.

“The evaluation will take hours, at most days,” said Sluzki on Russian state television. Then you could talk to the opposite side of a new appointment. There is no reason to lose time. “Every hour means human life,” he said. The second round of negotiations could already be “decisive”.

There were initially no direct public reactions of the allies of Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump had already said on Thursday-after the lack of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin-that he had no great expectations of the meeting. “Nothing will happen until Putin and I come together,” he said recently during his trip to Gulf. He also explained his willingness to meet the Kremlin chief as soon as possible to end the war.

The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj publicly asked Putin for a personal meeting in Istanbul last weekend. Putin had not answered this and instead sent a lower -ranking delegation to talks to Turkey.

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinski, was satisfied with the meeting in Istanbul. The two sides would have agreed to work out their ideas of a ceasefire in detail before a next round of talks and to transmit the opposite side. The Ukrainian delegation also called for a direct meeting of President Selenskyj and Putin. “We took note of this,” Medinski was quoted by Russian media.

The Ukrainian foreign office spokesman Horhij Tychyj confirmed media reports that there were hard differences in the talks. “In the negotiations, there were actually demands that we consider unacceptable,” said Tychyj, but did not give any details.

Previously, reports had been circulating that the Russian side continued to complete a complete withdrawal of Ukraine from the provinces claimed by Russia and recognition of the annexions. Tychyj said: “We prepared for it. The Ukrainian delegation knew that it was coming. Therefore, she kept a very reserved tone and calmly defended her line, spoke her position. We find that the Ukrainian delegation worked sufficiently effectively.”

According to the French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine expects feedback on demands transmitted to Russia in the coming hours. “After that, we will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with President Trump again,” said Macron after the end of a meeting of European state and government heads in the Albanian capital Tirana.

Macron had already telephone on Friday afternoon together with Selenskyj, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Great Britain Premier Keir Strandmer and Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk to US President Trump. “It is clear that the proposal for unconditional ceasefire is currently the only specific initiative that is on the table,” said Macron. In the event that there is no positive answer, further sanctions are prepared in coordination with the United States.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski believes that Putin only plays for time. “He is still convinced that he can win,” said Sikorski to the “Tagesspiegel”. Trump’s presence is not absolutely necessary for a negotiation success.

“The country that could end the war and refer Putin to the barriers is China,” said Sikorski. “If China threatened with a trade embargo, Russia would be forced to join.” China officially describes itself as neutral in the Ukraine War. However, the country is internationally criticized to support Russia in the invasion.

Apart from the negotiating tables, Russian and Ukrainian troops fought bitter battles. The Ukrainian General Staff reported in its daily balance of 61 Russian attacks, the majority of the constant burning points of Torezk and Pokrowsk. Russian drone attacks were reported from the South Ukrainian city of Cherson, and two people were injured, according to the authorities. According to official information, four people were injured in Kupjansk in the east of Ukraine in Russian artillery attacks.