Istanbul Set to Host Fresh Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks

The Turkish city of Istanbul is preparing to host a new round of direct peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Monday evening that the talks will take place in Türkiye on Wednesday. Earlier that day, he informed Ukrainian ambassadors that the agenda would include the return of prisoners and preparations for a possible meeting between the countries' leaders.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Tuesday that Moscow also expects the talks to be held this week. While cautioning against expecting “miraculous breakthroughs,” he acknowledged that the discussions would cover complex issues. He later confirmed that the negotiations would occur Wednesday evening in Istanbul.

The Russian delegation will again be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, while Ukraine’s team will be headed by Rustem Umerov, recently appointed to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council during a cabinet reshuffle.

Previous Rounds in Istanbul

Türkiye has facilitated two previous rounds of renewed talks between Russia and Ukraine—on May 16 and June 2—both held in Istanbul.

The first round, at Dolmabahce Palace, led to the largest prisoner swap in the war so far, with 1,000 prisoners exchanged on each side. This agreement was followed by three additional phases of prisoner exchanges.

Both delegations also exchanged peace memoranda outlining their respective visions for ending the conflict.

Two weeks later, a second round of talks took place at Ciragan Palace. This session led to another agreement to exchange prisoners of war—prioritizing the youngest and most seriously injured—and to return the bodies of 6,000 fallen soldiers from each side. Further memoranda were exchanged during this meeting.

Russia’s memorandum demanded that Ukraine not join military alliances and that it withdraw troops from four regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—which Moscow annexed following a 2022 referendum.

Ukraine, in contrast, labeled these demands as an ultimatum and insisted on a ceasefire before further substantive negotiations could occur.

After the second round, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed hosting a summit with the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and possibly the United States, positioning Istanbul as a potential "center of peace."

Looking Ahead

As the third round approaches, expectations center around progress on humanitarian issues. Maksym Skrypchenko, president of Kyiv-based think tank the Transatlantic Dialogue Center, told Anadolu that more humanitarian agreements are likely.

He suggested that this momentum could serve as a starting point for broader de-escalation and potential conflict resolution.

However, he noted that the peace memoranda exchanged reveal how distant the two sides still are from a mutually acceptable deal.

Skrypchenko emphasized that a summit between leaders will only be worthwhile once the core negotiating positions of both countries move closer. Until then, he said, “the substance of the proposals must evolve first.”