Russia And Ukraine Plan New Talks In Turkey

Russia and Ukraine are planning to meet in Turkey next week for a second round of peace talks, contingent on Moscow presenting a list of terms, even as Moscow continues air strikes across Ukraine, reducing the likelihood of a peace deal, the Washington Post reported. 

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed that Ukraine had sent its terms to Moscow and was waiting on Russia’s submission to avoid “an empty meeting” on Monday.  

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would bring its memorandum to Istanbul.  

The upcoming talks follow an initial round of direct negotiations that took place on May 16 in Istanbul and resulted in an agreement to exchange written conditions for a ceasefire.  

Over the weekend, the two countries held a prisoner swap, in which each side released 1,000 captives. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week that during his April meeting with US President Donald Trump at the Vatican, Trump pledged to impose new sanctions if Russia refused a ceasefire.  

While Trump has publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin – calling him “crazy” and “playing with fire” – he has so far withheld new sanctions, citing ongoing talks, Politico noted. 

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy reaffirmed Ukraine’s offer of an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and said Kyiv was prepared for further negotiations, including a possible three-way summit with Trump and Putin.  

Ukraine has consistently offered an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, while Russia insists on broader discussions to address what it calls the “root causes” of the war. 

Despite diplomatic overtures, Russia has intensified its military campaign. Over the past week, Moscow launched its largest aerial attacks since the war began in 2022 and the Ukrainian leader says Russia has assembled more than 50,000 troops near Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, according to Reuters.  

Ukrainian officials also said Moscow has captured four villages and is preparing for a summer offensive aimed at expanding its foothold in Donetsk and possibly crossing into Dnipro.  

Ukraine has responded with drone strikes that shut down several Russian airports. On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed nearly 300 Ukrainian drones, including 40 near Moscow. 

Meanwhile, the United Nations said Wednesday that Russia has committed systematic war crimes against civilians in the Kherson region.