Tallinn, Estonia (AP) – The talks took place in the belligerent capitals of Moscow and kyiv, Washington and Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, in countries across Europe. Now, all eyes finally turn to Istanbul to seek the end of the 3 -year Russian, large -scale invasion from Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin Offer to restart direct peace talks Thursday with Ukraine in the Turkish city that overlaps Asia and Europe. And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Contested the leader of the Kremlin Meet in Türkiye in person.
What will take place is uncertain. The Kremlin refused to confirm who goes to Türkiye and if it will understand Putin. Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Zelenskyy would only sit with the Russian chief.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that “if Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the last point that he does not want to end the war.”
What we know about possible talks:
How did the idea of talks in Türkiye occurred?
On Saturday, Zelenskyy welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in a unit demonstration. They launched a coordinated call for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine from Monday.
The plan has received support from the European Union and the American president Donald Trump, who had promised during his campaign to end the war which is now in his fourth year. The leaders promised more severe sanctions against Russia if Putin did not accept the proposal.
In media remarks early Sunday, however, Putin actually rejected the offer and proposed restart direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in place “without conditions”. He did not specify if he envisaged talks to involve Zelenskyy and himself personally, or with lower level officials.
Zelenskyy replied by insisting on a ceasefire, saying that he will go to Turkey-and put Poutine in challenge to do the same: “I will wait for Putin in (Turkey) on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time, the Russians will not seek excuses. ”
Who comes and why?
Pressed by journalists who will represent Russia in Istanbul, the spokesman for Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, refused to say, stressing that Putin had described the position of Russia quite clearly.
Trump administration has launched separate discussions with Russia and Ukraine In Saudi Arabia In March. But since then, the administration has indicated that it could withdraw from the process if no tangible progression has been made. Trump said on Monday that he was optimistic about talks – a net contrast with a controversial oval office meeting with Zelenskyy on February 28. There is “the potential of a good meeting” between Putin and Zelenskyy, Trump told Washington. He added that he “thought of flying over” after his visit to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, but later said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others will go to Turkey for talks.
Podolyak said on Tuesday a program of Russian journalists in exile in a leading exile that the Ukrainian chief will not meet any Russian civil servant in Istanbul other than Putin.
He added that “there are always people” in the entourage of Zelenskyy who can “make certain negotiations at corresponding levels” with the Russians, but questioned the interest of a lower level meeting. “Without a doubt, only Putin can make the decision to continue the war or stop the war,” he said.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that he would meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara and wait there. If the Russian chief chooses Istanbul for the meeting, Zelenskyy said, then he and Erdogan will travel there.
If Putin does not show, European and American leaders should follow additional sanctions against Russia, he added.
What happened during the talks in Istanbul in 2022?
The Kremlin presented the talks on Thursday as a “restart” of peace negotiations in Istanbul in 2022, at the start of the war, which quickly collapsed. Moscow had blamed Ukraine and the West for their alleged desire to continue to fight, while kyiv said that Russia’s requests were on an ultimatum rather than something on which the parties could be mutually agree.
Zelenskyy said that requests from the Russian delegation included recognition by Ukraine Russian control over Donbas, an eastern region of Ukraine made up of Donetsk and Luhansk regions; Constitutional amendments to declare neutrality; a significant reduction in the armed forces of Ukraine; and the surrender of long -range weapons. “There was never any negotiations; he was an ultimatum of a murderer,” he said in 2022.
Putin accused Ukraine of derailing a peace agreement which was essentially agreed and included clauses of the neutral and non -nuclear status of Ukraine and details on the reduction of his army. “The authorities of Kyiv … simply threw. They refused it,” said Putin in 2023.
The Kremlin said on several occasions that “Istanbul agreements” could serve as a basis for new peace talks. After Moscow illegally annexed the Ukrainian Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in September 2022, the Russian authorities began to say that kyiv should also recognize “reality on the ground”.
What are the requests of both parties to end the war?
Putin last year demanded that Ukraine ceded the four regions, that it still does not control completely. He also wants Kyiv to recognize the Crimean Peninsula, also annexed illegal by Moscow in 2014, as Russian; Ukraine must also give up his attempt to join NATO and considerably reduce his army. He also demanded that the West Lift sanctions imposed Moscow after the invasion.
Kyiv, in turn, refused to sell all land and wants solid security guarantees against future Russian attacks.
Trump, who has embarked on a wide diplomatic effort to put an end to war since his entry into office, said that Crimea, “will remain with Russia”. He also said Kyiv was unlikely to join NATO.
What’s going on on the battlefield?
The two parties are preparing a hot -time campaign on the battlefield, where a war of attrition killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides along the front line of approximately 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington reflection group, said that Russia “reconstructs front line units quickly with new recruits to maintain the battlefield initiative”.
In 2024 and more recently, Russian troops produced slow but regular gains in several sections along the front.
Putin said in March that Russian troops had “vaulted” and “hold a strategic initiative throughout contact”. Zelenskyy warned that Russia delays talks in preparation for larger offensives.
Last month, Moscow’s forces also said they had fully recovered pieces from the Kursk Russian region bordering Ukraine that kyiv’s forces seized in August 2024.
Several attempts to establish at least one partial ceasefire have failed. Russia has effectively rejected an unconditional 30 -day truce; The Kremlin has rather declared two short unilateral ceases for the holidays in the last two months-one for 30 hours at Easter and another for 72 hours to coincide with Russian Second World War Victory Day celebrations. In both cases, Kyiv and Moscow have accused themselves of not having stopped the fights.
Russia and Ukraine also undertook in March to observe a 30 -day stop on the attacker energy infrastructure which was negotiated by the Trump administration. The two parties have repeatedly accused themselves of massive violations until the measure expires.
