Istanbul, Turkey – A high-level Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul on Thursday for the first face-to-face peace negotiations with Ukraine in over three years, signaling a potential diplomatic shift amid a war that has drawn global concern. Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the arrival, saying the team was “ready for serious work,” though few concrete details were made public as the talks neared.
The negotiations mark a rare direct engagement between the two sides since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but expectations remain low. Russian President Vladimir Putin declined an offer from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet personally during the talks, instead appointing Vladimir Medinsky—his aide and a former culture minister—to lead the Russian team. Medinsky also led the unsuccessful 2022 peace talks.
Joining Medinsky are several senior officials: Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, and Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU). The Kremlin directive released late Wednesday also included a group of advisers from Russia’s Foreign and Defense Ministries and the presidential administration.
In a video released by the Kremlin, Putin was seen meeting the delegation on Wednesday night, flanked by key figures such as Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, and FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov.
Ukraine has yet to publicly announce the members of its own delegation or confirm if officials will attend the Istanbul talks in person. President Zelensky, speaking after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, criticized the composition of Russia’s delegation, calling it “more like a theatre prop than a serious one.”
“Nothing has been confirmed officially, but from what we’ve observed, it looks more like a theatre prop than a serious one,” Zelensky was quoted by The Guardian. “What we do know for certain is who actually makes decisions on the Russian side. And we will act accordingly.”
Zelensky has insisted that he will only meet with Putin directly. In the meantime, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham during a NATO gathering in Antalya. The U.S. has expressed growing frustration over the stalemate.
“We’re in a very difficult spot right now, and we hope that we can find steps forward that provide for the end of this war in a negotiated way,” Rubio said, hinting that Washington is open to “virtually any mechanism” to reach a lasting peace.
Meanwhile, speculation swirled around Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace, where the talks are rumored to be held, although Turkish officials have not confirmed the location. Media crews from around the world have gathered nearby, waiting for updates.
Adding to the intrigue, U.S. President Donald Trump—currently on a tour of the Middle East—hinted that he may attend the talks. “I was thinking about going, but it is very tough,” Trump said during a business breakfast in Qatar. “If something happened, I would go on Friday if it was appropriate.”
Trump, who has repeatedly called for an end to the war, has pressed both Kyiv and Moscow to demonstrate commitment to a diplomatic resolution. His administration is eager to show progress, but little ground appears to have been gained in recent months despite sustained diplomatic efforts.
Putin unexpectedly called for direct negotiations with Ukraine during a Kremlin address on Sunday, rejecting a Western-supported 30-day ceasefire proposal that was set to begin on Monday. European leaders threatened additional sanctions against Moscow if it did not endorse the truce.
Zelensky appeared to catch Moscow off guard when he accepted the idea of new talks and then publicly challenged Putin to meet face-to-face in Istanbul—an idea Trump later endorsed. Despite this, Kremlin sources told The Moscow Times that Putin has no intention of sitting down with Zelensky at this stage, dismissing the Ukrainian president as unworthy of direct talks.
“Zelensky is only suitable for signing a capitulation. Period,” one Russian diplomat reportedly said on condition of anonymity.
Putin and Zelensky have only met once before, during the 2019 Normandy Four summit in Paris, which failed to yield any long-term results. Since the full-scale invasion began, Russia has labeled Ukraine’s government a “neo-Nazi regime” and called for the country’s “denazification” and “demilitarization”—language critics say is designed to justify continued aggression.
As the Istanbul talks begin under a heavy cloud of skepticism, the world watches closely—hoping for a breakthrough, but bracing for more of the same impasse.
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