Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan chairs Turkiye-Russia-Ukraine Trilateral Meeting at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Türkiye on May 16, 2025. (AA Photo)
May 18, 2025 04:49 PM GMT+03:00
No definitive decisions have been made regarding the location and timing of a new round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, according to an informed source who spoke to Ria Novosti.
“Information about a new round has not yet been received,” the source stated, advising to rely on the statements made by the Russian delegation following Friday’s talks in Istanbul.
The uncertainty comes despite Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s earlier statement that the delegations had reached an agreement in principle for another round of negotiations.
The talks in Istanbul on May 16 marked the first direct negotiations between the warring parties in over three years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously proposed resuming direct negotiations without preconditions in Istanbul on May 15. Although the Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul as scheduled, no contacts between representatives of the two countries took place that day, with the actual meeting occurring on Friday.
The negotiations that took place on Friday lasted almost two hours. Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian delegation as an aide to President Putin, announced a large-scale prisoner exchange agreement—1,000 for 1,000—with Ukraine.
According to Medinsky, officials in Moscow and Kyiv agreed to present their vision of a possible future cease-fire.
The Ukrainian side requested a meeting between the heads of state during the negotiations, which Russia acknowledged.
No decisions yet on timing for new Russia-Ukraine peace talks: Report
In a separate statement to the Russian state channel Rossiya 1, President Putin emphasized that Russia’s goals in Ukraine include ensuring long-term peace and security for Russia.
“We have sufficient strength to bring what we started in 2022 to the result that Russia wants, which is logical. This result is eliminating the causes of the current crisis, creating conditions for long-term sustainable peace, and ensuring the security of the Russian state,” Putin said.
The Russian president also mentioned that they aim to protect the interests of Russian-speaking people in Ukraine.
No decisions yet on timing for new Russia-Ukraine peace talks: Report
The Istanbul talks produced an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each and discussions about a potential meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin. However, Ukrainian officials reported that Russia had raised “unacceptable demands,” including territorial concessions.
Ukraine had been seeking an “unconditional ceasefire” to pause a conflict that has destroyed large areas of Ukraine and displaced millions of people. Moscow has consistently rejected these calls, with the only concrete agreement from the Istanbul meeting being the prisoner exchange deal.
Medinsky expressed Russia’s readiness to continue negotiations with Ukraine following the Istanbul meeting, which was presided over by Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan at the Dolmabahce Palace.
May 18, 2025 04:49 PM GMT+03:00
