Russia, Ukraine in peace talks

RUSSIANS and Ukrainians sat face-to-face for under two hours yesterday in Istanbul for the first direct talks in over three years aimed at ending their war, with expectations low for breakthroughs.

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Kyiv is seeking an “unconditional ceasefire” in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II which has also destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

Moscow says it wanted to address the “root causes” of the conflict and revive failed 2022 negotiations in which it made sweeping territorial and political demands of Ukraine.

Tiirkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan sat at the head of a table in front of Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian flags at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace - with Russian and Ukrainian delegations facing each other, footage from the room showed. The talks concluded after just over 90 minutes, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

While the talks were ongoing, a Ukrainian diplomatic source said that Russia was making “unacceptable” territorial demands in a bid to derail negotiations. Further talks may take place later on Friday but are not planned, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Speaking at a European summit in Albania, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged a “strong reaction” from the world if the talks failed, including new sanctions.