Efforts to restart direct talks between Russia and Ukraine faltered in Istanbul on Friday as Russian negotiators raised fresh threats of annexation and Ukrainian officials rejected a ceasefire deal they said amounted to surrender.
The talks were held Friday at Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace, a 19th-century compound that once served as an Ottoman administrative center. Multiple sources suggested the session underlined how far apart the two sides remain.
Russia’s demands were called “unrealistic and detached from any previous discussion,” a Ukrainian official told Reuters. “They are asking us to withdraw from Ukrainian territory in exchange for a ceasefire, along with other non-starters and non-constructive conditions.”
Moscow did not release an official statement. The Kremlin has long insisted that any settlement to the war must include recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and the four partially occupied regions annexed in 2022 — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — along with a formal end to Ukraine’s NATO aspirations and a reduction of its armed forces.
According to The Economist’s Oliver Carroll, Russian officials also raised the prospect of annexing further territory. “A well-placed source tells me Russia said it would agree to a ceasefire — only if Ukraine withdraws from the four “annexed” provinces Russia doesn’t even fully control. (!) Moscow also threatened to seize two more: Kharkiv and Sumy,” he wrote on X.
Carroll quoted lead Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky as saying that Russia “does not want war,” but is “ready to fight for one, two, three years – however long it takes.” “We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?” Medinsky reportedly added: “Maybe some of those sitting here at this table will lose more of their loved ones. Russia is prepared to fight forever.”
Ukraine continues to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and has asked for long-term security guarantees from the United States and European allies.
The Russian delegation wore suits and spoke in Russian. Several Ukrainian negotiators wore fatigues and responded in Ukrainian, though fluent in both languages.
The only confirmed outcome of the meeting was a proposed prisoner exchange under a “1000 for 1000” formula. “We know the date, but we won’t say it yet,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. He added that “all modalities” of a ceasefire had been discussed, but no agreement was reached.
The Dolmabahçe Palace had also hosted talks in 2022 during the early weeks of the invasion. But Ukrainian officials made clear they did not view Friday’s meeting as a continuation of that process.
“The terms were unacceptable then, and they’re even more so today,” said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky. In 2022, Russia had called for Ukraine to demilitarize and renounce NATO membership. Two years later, with about one-fifth of Ukraine under Russian control, Moscow’s demands remain largely the same, including neutrality, recognition of its annexations, and concessions on defense.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently revived the prospect of renewed dialogue, did not attend. Nor did Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Instead, Russia sent a lower-level delegation, a decision mirrored by Kyiv. Neither Zelensky nor Putin has committed to a face-to-face meeting, though Umerov said the idea was discussed: “We are working on this issue.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced skepticism ahead of the talks. “I hope I’m 100% wrong. I hope tomorrow the news says they’ve agreed to a ceasefire; they’ve agreed to enter serious negotiations. But I’m just giving you my assessment, honestly.” President Donald Trump, returning from a Middle East tour, had also said there would be no breakthrough “until there is a meeting between me and Putin.”
Meanwhile, several hours before the meeting, air raid sirens sounded in Dnipro, a central Ukrainian city, followed by explosions near the airport and power infrastructure. Local officials said the attack involved drones and short-range ballistic missiles. A substation was damaged despite some interceptions.
In the east, Russian forces claimed to have seized the village of Netaylovo, west of Avdiivka. Ukraine did not confirm the loss but said its troops had repositioned to avoid encirclement along the Pokrovsk–Kurakhove axis. Ukraine also deployed reinforcements to the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, signaling a prospective Russian offensive near the northeastern border after the explicit threats Russia made in Istanbul.
