---
title: "Russians and Ukrainians meet in Turkey for first talks in 3 years"
description: "Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul on Friday at their first direct peace talks in more than three years, under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-16-russians-and-ukrainians-meet-in-turkey-for-first-talks-in-3-years/"
published: "2025-05-16T13:23:16"
updated: "2025-05-16T13:25:04"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 426
---

# Russians and Ukrainians meet in Turkey for first talks in 3 years

> Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul on Friday at their first direct peace talks in more than three years, under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

By Reuters · Published 16 May 2025, 15:23 SAST · Updated 16 May 2025, 15:25 SAST

## Key points
- In a diplomatic dance that feels more like a waltz with two left feet, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul for the first time since the war began, while Trump insists that only a tête-à-tête with Putin could possibly get the ball rolling—because what’s a peace process without a reality TV star's cameo?
- Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul for the first time since March 2022, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan presiding.
- Ukraine demands a 30-day ceasefire and the return of abducted children as prerequisites for peace talks, while Russia expresses concerns about Ukraine's potential military gains during a ceasefire.
- U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, indicate low expectations for a breakthrough, citing the mid-level status of the negotiating teams.
- Amid ongoing conflict, Russia claims territorial gains in eastern Ukraine, while air alerts and explosions were reported in Dnipro just before the Istanbul talks commenced.

## Content

Live Turkish television pictures showed Russian and Ukrainian negotiators holding discussions together with a Turkish delegation. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was making a speech at the start of the meeting.

The meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus marks a rare sign of diplomatic progress between the warring sides, who had not met face-to-face since March 2022, the month after Russia's invasion.

Expectations for a major breakthrough, already low, were dented further on Thursday when Trump said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Trump, winding up a Middle East tour and heading back to Washington, said on Friday he would meet the Russian leader "as soon as we can set it up".

KYIV SEEKS IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE

Setting out Kyiv's priorities, the head of Ukraine's delegation said peace was only possible if Russia agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, the return of abducted Ukrainian children and an exchange of all prisoners of war.

Russia says it wants to end the war by diplomatic means and is ready to discuss a ceasefire. But it has raised a list of questions and concerns, saying Ukraine could use the pause to rest its forces, mobilise extra troops and acquire more western weapons.

Ukraine and its allies accuse Putin of stalling, and say he is not serious about wanting peace.

It was Putin who proposed the direct talks in Turkey, but he spurned a challenge from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet him there in person. Instead, he sent a team of mid-level officials, and Ukraine responded by naming negotiators of similar rank.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg were also in Istanbul, where a flurry of separate meetings took place earlier on Friday.

Rubio told reporters on Thursday night that, based on the level of the negotiating teams, a major breakthrough was unlikely.

"I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’m 100% wrong. I hope tomorrow the news says they’ve agreed to a ceasefire; they’ve agreed to enter serious negotiations. But I’m just giving you my assessment, honestly," he said.

Russia said on Friday it had captured another village in its slow, grinding advance in eastern Ukraine. Minutes before the start of the Istanbul meeting, Ukrainian media reported an air alert and explosions in the city of Dnipro.

(Reporting by Can Sezer, Humeyra Pamuk, Tom Balmforth and Vladimir Soldatkin in Istanbul, Olena Harmash in Kyiv, Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Reuters reporters in Moscow; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Peter Graff)