Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held the first face-to-face peace talks in Istanbul on Friday, amid more than three years of war between Russia and Ukraine. This dialogue has been possible due to the pressure of US President Donald Trump. This discussion has been given a lot of importance on Turkish news channels. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was giving a speech at the beginning of the meeting.
Hopes for a ceasefire were already low but any remaining ray of hope seemed to wane on Thursday when Trump said there would be no progress without a meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Trump, returning to the United States after wrapping up a tour of the Middle East, said Friday he would meet the Russian leader “as soon as we can arrange it.”
Here, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, while explaining his country’s priorities, said that peace is possible only when Russia agrees to a 30-day ceasefire, return of kidnapped Ukrainian children and exchange of all prisoners of war. Russia says it wants to end the war through diplomatic means and is ready to discuss a ceasefire.