The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years are expected to take place in Türkiye’s largest city, Istanbul, on Friday. The delegation from Moscow will wait at the Dolmabahce Palace starting at 10 a.m. as proposed by Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.
According to Anadolu news agency sources, the Russian and Ukrainian teams are also set to meet with US and Turkish representatives the same day.
As the talks were planned to take place on Thursday, the Kremlin delegation had been waiting for its counterpart to arrive for the whole day. Vladimir Zelensky named his delegation later in the evening. It will consist of 12 delegates and be led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered on Sunday to resume direct dialogue between Moscow and Kiev to find a lasting settlement that would address the root causes of the conflict.
Zelensky, who had previously ruled out any talks with Moscow, only agreed to attend following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of his support for the talks, and his claim that Kiev should accept it “immediately”. But instead of going to Istanbul, Zelensky went to Ankara, where he had direct talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Russian President’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Putin is not planning to personally take part in the talks with Ukraine in Türkiye.
Moscow and Ukraine last held direct talks in April 2022, also in Istanbul. Following initial reports that an agreement had been reached, Kiev unilaterally withdrew from the talks. President Putin later blamed Western interference and, in particular, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had reportedly urged Kiev to “just continue fighting,” for derailing the peace process.
Russia, which had withdrawn its forces from the outskirts of Kiev as a goodwill gesture, later accused Ukraine of backtracking, saying it had lost trust in Ukraine’s negotiators.
15 May 2025
23:38 GMT
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied reports that Washington opposed Vladimir Zelensky’s participation in the NATO summit in The Hague next month.
“No, I don’t know where that’s coming from,” he told reporters during a trip to Türkiye. “Many leaders who are not members of NATO are invited to NATO conferences – they’re not at the leaders’ meeting, but they’re invited to conferences.”
Multiple European news outlets reported that President Donald Trump did not want to fully dedicate the summit to Ukraine.
20:41 GMT
The Russian delegation will be waiting for the Ukrainian side to meet starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, told journalists.
“We had a very close meeting with the world leaders. They explained our position. Tomorrow morning, we will be waiting for the Ukrainian side, which should arrive at the meeting,” Medinsky said.
Russia’s presidential aide also reminded that it was Vladimir Putin who suggested restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul “without preconditions.”
“We are ready to talk,” Medinsky added.
20:01 GMT
US President Donald Trump has dodged a question on whether he plans to travel to Istanbul for Russia-Ukraine talks.
“We’re leaving tomorrow, but you know, destination’s unknown. We could be here, we could be there. But we’re probably going back to Washington, DC, tomorrow,” he told journalists in Abu Dhabi after meeting with Emirati President Mohammed Bin Zayed.
20:00 GMT
The US and Türkiye want the Russia-Ukraine negotiations to happen, but Europe doesn’t, political expert Sergey Mikheev has told RT.
”Europe does not want it, first and foremost, the British. They do not want it because they need some conditions for their participation in this very process,” Mikheev said.
”Ultimately, many things will depend on whether contacts between Moscow and Washington, which are, of course, taking place behind the scenes, will work out.”
He also claimed Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky was failing to take control of the situation while the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had seized the initiative by scheduling negotiations for May 15.
”The delegation headed by [the Russian president’s aide, Vladimir] Medinsky refers to the history of 2022. Russia appointed Medinsky to this position, but for Zelensky, this is a little humiliating. So he is trying to get out of it, he is babbling about everything just to be quoted,” Mikheev claimed.
18:49 GMT
No decisions have been made yet concerning negotiations between Russian, US, Turkish, and Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has claimed.
However, according to the Anadolu sources, the teams are set to meet on Friday.
18:48 GMT
Vladimir Zelensky’s office has announced the delegation for the Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul. The team will be led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and will include 11 other delegates. This group features Aleksandr Poklad, the Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), as well as Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN and Deputy Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Other members include Deputy Heads from the General Staff, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Main Intelligence Directorate, and various branches of the military.
18:02 GMT
A meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Russian delegation has begun in the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, according to RIA Novosti sources.
17:46 GMT
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said a decision on whether Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet depends on the results of discussions between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations.
”I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin.”
He added that he didn’t think “anything productive is actually going to happen from this point forward,” until the US and Russian leaders engage in a “very frank and direct conversation.”
Rubio added that Trump is “willing” to have talks and is “impatient” to end the conflict.
17:31 GMT
The Russian delegation are in the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, according to an Interfax source. It is not yet clear whether the negotiations are going to begin now.
However, TASS sources claim there will be no talks on Thursday “due to logistics,” but contacts between Russia and Türkiye “are possible.”
17:21 GMT
Vladimir Zelensky has concluded his visit to Türkiye and is now heading to Albania, according to Ukrainian media.
