Russia and Ukraine hold first direct talks in 3 years

ISTANBUL — Russian and Ukrainian negotiators concluded their direct meeting, the first in more than three years, in Turkiye's Istanbul on Friday, under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

According to a Turkish Foreign Ministry source, the talks lasted about two hours.

At the start of the meeting, live Turkish television pictures showed Russian and Ukrainian negotiators holding discussions together with a Turkish delegation. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said it was essential to secure a ceasefire "as soon as possible".

"While the war continues to take lives, it is of critical importance that the ceasefire be implemented as soon as possible," he said.

He sat at the head of a table in front of Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian flags — with Russian and Ukrainian delegations facing each other, footage from the room showed.

The meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus marks a rare sign of diplomatic progress between the warring sides that had not met face-to-face since March 2022, the month after Russia launched its special military operation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to travel to Turkiye for the talks, sending a delegation instead.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had criticized Russia for not taking the talks "seriously" by dispatching people who he said "had no power to make decisions".

Meanwhile, both Moscow and Washington have also talked about the need for a meeting between Putin and Trump on the conflict.

"Contacts between presidents Putin and Trump are extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, adding that "a meeting is undoubtedly necessary."

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

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 the exchange of prisoners.

Concerns raised

Russia says it wants to end the fighting 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, mobilize additional troops and acquire more Western weapons.

US 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, going by the level of the negotiating teams, a major breakthrough was unlikely.

"I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm 100 percent 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.

In Brussels, the EU chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Friday to "increase the pressure" on Russia, saying work has begun on an 18th package of EU sanctions against Moscow.

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

China on Friday reiterated that it supports all efforts conducive to peace and encourages direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.

At a daily news conference on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China's position has been consistent and clear on the Ukraine crisis.

China hopes all relevant parties will continue to pursue dialogue and negotiations to reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties involved, ultimately achieving a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis, he added.

Zhao Jia in Beijing contributed to this story.

Agencies Via Xinhua