Third Round of Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Set to Begin in Istanbul

Moscow – A Russian delegation has departed for Istanbul, where the third round of peace talks with Ukraine is expected to begin as early as Wednesday evening, according to Russian media reports.

The Russian delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, a presidential aide, while the Ukrainian side is headed by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council.

The two previous rounds of talks, also held in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2, resulted in prisoner exchanges but made little headway toward a ceasefire agreement.

President Volodymyr Zelensky recently appointed Umerov—Ukraine’s former Defence Minister and the lead negotiator in earlier talks—as the new head of the National Security and Defence Council. "The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up," Zelensky stated. "Everything should be done to achieve a ceasefire."

However, the Kremlin has tempered expectations for the upcoming round. "We don’t have any reason to hope for miraculous breakthroughs," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday, describing such outcomes as "hardly possible in the current situation."

Peskov emphasized that Russia will continue to pursue its strategic goals, adding, "We intend to ensure our interests and fulfill the tasks we set from the very beginning." He also pointed out that Moscow and Kyiv remain fundamentally opposed in their visions of ending the conflict, stating that "much work remains to be done."

Following the last round of negotiations, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the proposed peace frameworks from both sides as “absolutely contradictory.”

Russia has demanded:

• Ukrainian neutrality

• A pledge to stay out of military alliances

• International recognition of Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson as Russian territories

Ukraine, however, maintains that it is not obligated to remain neutral. In its memorandum, Ukraine asserts its right to join the Euro-Atlantic community and move toward EU membership, noting that NATO membership depends on consensus within the alliance.

Meanwhile, President Zelensky recently announced plans to scale up domestic weapons production, aiming to meet half of Ukraine’s military needs within six months. He also revealed that Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones capable of striking targets deep inside Russian territory.

With inputs from IANS