Ukrainian official accuses Russia of making unacceptable demands at peace talks
Russia and Ukraine have been holding their first direct peace talks in three years in Istanbul, Turkey.
A senior Ukrainian official at peace talks in Istanbul has accused Russia of introducing “unacceptable demands” that had not been previously discussed, including calls for Kyiv’s forces to withdraw from large swathes of territory they control so a complete ceasefire to be implemented.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to make official statements, said it seemed as if the Russian delegation “deliberately wants to throw nonstarters on the table in order to walk away from today’s meeting without any results”.
He said the Ukrainian side reiterated it remained focused on achieving real progress — an immediate ceasefire and a pathway to substantive diplomacy, “just like the US, European partners, and other countries proposed”.
It comes as Russia and Ukraine have been holding their first direct peace talks in three years.
They gathered in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected the talks to yield little immediate progress on stopping the war.
A Ukrainian delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov sat down with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, who published a photo of the meeting.
The officials present sat around a U-shaped table, with the Russians and Ukrainians facing each other.
A senior Ukrainian official close to the talks said that Kyiv’s delegation was prepared to “achieve a lot today” and with a real mandate to resolve key issues. The official said the outcome hinges on whether Moscow is equally serious.
Both countries have tried to persuade US President Donald Trump, who has expressed frustration over the slow progress, that they are eager to resolve the conflict amid extensive diplomatic manoeuvring.
The latest push to end the fighting got off to a rocky start on Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to meet face-to-face.
Delegations from the two countries also flew to different Turkish cities and put together teams of significantly different diplomatic heft for possible talks.
Although expectations for a possible Putin-Zelensky meeting were low, the apparent lack of traction in peace efforts frustrated hopes of bold steps being taken in Turkey towards reaching a settlement.
The two sides are far apart in their conditions for ending the war, and Mr Trump said on Thursday during a trip to the Middle East that a meeting between himself and Mr Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.
On Friday, Mr Trump said a meeting with Mr Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up”.
“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Mr Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
Comments on Friday by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov appeared to indicate that momentum for a summit is building, as Mr Peskov told reporters top-level talks were “certainly needed”. But he noted that preparing a summit would take time.
Ukraine has accepted a US and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Mr Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Meantime, Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and western military analysts say.
Russia’s invasion has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the UN says, and razed towns and villages. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died, and probably a larger number of Russian troops, officials and analysts say.
A Friday morning drone attack on the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk killed a 55-year-old woman and wounded four men, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, said. All the victims worked for a municipal utility.
