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Russia is prepared to resume direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul but has yet to receive a response from Kyiv, Russia’s charge d’affaires in Türkiye, Alexey Ivanov, said Wednesday.
“The Russian side has repeatedly emphasized that we are ready to continue direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side. Our Turkish partners have also consistently stressed that the Istanbul platform remains available to us—these doors remain open,” Ivanov told the state-run TASS news agency.
Ivanov said Russia previously submitted several initiatives, including proposals to create three online working groups focused on political, military, and humanitarian issues.
“Unfortunately, we have not yet received a positive response from the Ukrainian side,” he added, noting that Moscow remains open to dialogue “if Kyiv shows political will.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, who leads Kyiv’s delegation in direct talks with Russia, arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday.
In a statement on Telegram, Umerov said his visit was aimed at resuming the exchange of prisoners of war.
“These days, I will be working in Türkiye and the Middle East to unblock the exchange process. There was an agreement, and we need to implement it,” he wrote, without specifying with whom he would meet.
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Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of renewed peace talks in Istanbul this year, resulting in limited agreements on the exchange of prisoners and civilians. Memorandums were also exchanged outlining each side’s positions on ending the war, which began in February 2022.
However, momentum appears to have stalled since then.
Besides Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar to a lesser extent, have been involved in mediating humanitarian exchanges between Moscow and Kyiv.
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