Ukraine-Russia talks start in Istanbul

International Desk :

Ukrainian and Russian delegations have begun a second round of peace talks in Istanbul, where they are set to exchange plans for how they want to end the three-year war.

“A meeting between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia began in Istanbul in the presence of the Turkish side,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry wrote on social media, while footage from inside Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace showed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan delivering opening remarks to negotiators sitting opposite each other.

Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022, but the two sides are still far apart on how to end the war and the fighting is stepping up.

U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded Russia and Ukraine make peace, but so far they have not and the White House has repeatedly warned the United States will “walk away” from the war if the two sides are too stubborn to reach a peace deal.

The first round of talks on May 16 yielded the biggest prisoner swap of the war but no sign of peace – or even a ceasefire as both sides merely set out their own opening negotiating positions.