Camilla Jessen
Moscow is prepared for bilateral talks with Ukraine “without preconditions,” but doubts remain about what—if anything—will come from the meeting.
Russia’s top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky confirmed on Thursday that he and his team are in Istanbul and ready to begin peace talks with Ukraine on Friday morning at 10 a.m.
Speaking to Russian state media RIA Novosti, Medinsky said he is there on direct orders from President Vladimir Putin and that the Russian delegation is prepared to engage in “direct bilateral talks without preconditions.”
Tomorrow morning, literally from 10 a.m., we will be waiting for the Ukrainian side,” Medinsky said. “We are ready to work.
Russia is sending a notable lineup to the talks, including Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, and Igor Kostyukov, who leads the GRU military intelligence service.
Ukraine will also be represented at a high level. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to head the Ukrainian delegation.
The two sides haven’t met face-to-face for negotiations since the early months of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Despite the planned talks, optimism is in short supply.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Donald Trump’s earlier remarks, saying he doesn’t expect any real breakthroughs until the two presidents—Zelenskyy and Putin—meet in person.