A second session later on Friday will bring together delegations from Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, the sources said. Kyiv will be represented by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, while the Russian side will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Low-key start
Expectations for a breakthrough cooled after it became clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump would stay away, even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in person.
The Istanbul channel is the first face-to-face format including Russia since talks collapsed in 2022.
Ahead of the U.S.–Ukraine–Turkey meeting, Kyiv’s team consulted in Istanbul with national-security advisers from France, Germany and Britain, along with U.S. special envoy Lt-Gen Keith Kellogg, according to diplomats briefed on the gathering.
NATO member Turkey as mediator
Turkey has sought to revive its role as mediator ever since brokering a now-defunct 2022 grain corridor deal. President Tayyip Erdogan offered to host ceasefire negotiations when Ankara backed Sweden’s NATO entry last year.
Fighting in Ukraine’s east has dragged into a fourth year, with front lines largely frozen but casualty rates high. Ukraine says a U.S.-backed 30-day ceasefire plan remains on the table; Russia insists any truce must address security guarantees and the status of annexed territories.
Turkish officials said a short communiqué may follow the Russia-Ukraine-Turkey session, but cautioned that substantive drafting of a ceasefire framework will require further meetings.
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Source: PAP, Reuters