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A high-level trilateral meeting between delegations from Türkiye, the United States, and Ukraine commenced Friday at the Presidential Dolmabahce Working Office in Istanbul under the leadership of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, as efforts to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia intensify.
The tripartite meeting on Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations, chaired by Fidan, has concluded in Istanbul.
The high-stakes meeting brought together senior representatives from all three nations. The U.S. delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack, and Special Representative for Ukraine General Keith Kellogg, who was appointed by President Donald Trump.
Ukraine's team consisted of Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree yesterday establishing the Ukrainian delegation for the peace negotiations in Istanbul.
According to sources from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the delegations convened at the Presidential Dolmabahce Working Office with discussions centered on potential pathways to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has continued for over two years.
The trilateral dialogue represents another significant diplomatic effort by Türkiye, which has maintained communication channels with both Ukraine and Russia throughout the conflict while advocating for a negotiated settlement.
Following this initial meeting, a separate Türkiye-Russia-Ukraine trilateral meeting is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. local time at the same venue, underscoring Türkiye's ongoing role as a mediator in the conflict.
Türkiye has previously hosted peace talks between the warring parties and facilitated agreements on grain exports from Ukrainian ports, positioning itself as a key diplomatic bridge between the conflicting nations.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, stated that securing an unconditional ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war is their priority at the Istanbul peace negotiations. In a statement shared on his Telegram account, Yermak provided details about the meetings held as part of the peace talks.
Yermak reported that the Ukrainian delegation met with U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg, UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, French President Emmanuel Macron's Diplomatic Adviser Ambassador Emmanuel Bonne, and German Foreign Ministry Political Director Günter Sautter.
"Ukraine is ready for peace and a permanent, unconditional ceasefire. We are also ready for high-level meetings and negotiations. The Ukrainian delegation is in Istanbul today to secure an unconditional ceasefire. This is our priority," Yermak said. "Another important issue is direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, who for some reason could not come to Türkiye."
These meetings were held prior to the scheduled talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations with U.S. and European officials.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Vladimir Putin had made a "big mistake" sending a lower-rank Russian delegation to conduct Friday's first direct peace talks with Ukraine in three years.
"He knows extremely well that the ball is in his court, that he is in trouble, that he made a big mistake by sending this low-level delegation," Rutte told reporters in Tirana, at a meeting of European leaders who were expected to close ranks around Zelenskyy.
"I think all the pressure is now on Putin," said Rutte. "The ball is clearly in his part of the field now, in his court," said Rutte. "He has to play ball. He has to be serious about wanting peace."
Kyiv on Friday questioned whether Russian negotiators in Istanbul had any power to make decisions, challenging them to agree to a cease-fire at the first direct peace talks in more than three years.
"Putin sent to Istanbul those who have no fundamental decision-making power," a senior Ukrainian source told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that "if the Russian delegation does have any authority, they can only prove it by agreeing to real steps, in particular a ceasefire."
According to AFP's report, Kyiv's delegation at Istanbul talks plans to discuss with Russian negotiators a potential meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a diplomatic source said.
"A possible meeting between President Zelenskyy and Putin will also be on the agenda of the Ukrainian delegation," a Ukrainian diplomatic source in Istanbul said.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed Europe would "increase the pressure" until Russia's Vladimir Putin is ready for peace, as the first talks in three years between Moscow and Kyiv got underway in Türkiye.
"We will increase the pressure," von der Leyen told reporters at a gathering of European leaders in Tirana, saying work was underway on a new package of sanctions. "We want peace and we have to increase the pressure until President Putin is ready for it," she said.
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas charged Friday that Russia was "clearly" not working for peace with Ukraine, as the two sides prepared to hold their first direct talks since 2022.
"We clearly see that Russia does not want peace and everybody else does," Kallas told reporters at a meeting of European leaders in Tirana. "The political isolation is important to put the pressure on Russia, and there we all have to be united."
Ukraine will make securing a ceasefire a priority in expected talks with a Russian delegation in Istanbul on Friday, a Ukrainian diplomatic source said to Reuters, adding there was also a need for "confidence-building measures".
"We understand that for any diplomacy to be resultative, there needs to be a ceasefire. Real, durable and well-monitored," the source said. "There also needs to be humanitarian confidence-building measures, such as the return of Ukrainian children, detained civilians, (and the) exchange of prisoners of war on the all-for-all basis."
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