Russia, Ukraine peace talks end with deal to swap POWs but no ceasefire

16/05/2025 - 18:11

No breakthrough in Turkey as Ukraine-Russia peace talks falter

The first direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in three years concluded in Turkey after just two hours.

With Russian President Vladimir Putin absent, the meeting yielded no progress as Ukraine accused Moscow of introducing “unacceptable demands,” including the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from significant territories.

16/05/2025 - 17:42

Ukraine says 'next step' should be Putin-Zelensky meeting

Ukraine's top negotiator said on Friday that the "next step" in talks with Russia should be a meeting between presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

"I think the next step would be that the leaders-level meeting should be organised," Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, Kyiv's lead negotiator, told reporters in Istanbul after the first face-to-face peace talks between the sides in more than three years.

16/05/2025 - 17:10

Turkey says Ukrainian, Russian negotiators agreed in principle to meet again

Ukrainian and Russian officials who held direct talks in Istanbul on Friday agreed in principle to meet again for negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

Fidan, who chaired the talks between negotiators from Russia and Ukraine, said in a post on X after the two sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each that the move was intended as a confidence-building measure. He said the two sides would also share in writing their conditions for a ceasefire.

16/05/2025 - 15:50

Zelensky, European leaders call Trump after Turkey talks, says Ukraine leader's spokesman

President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held a telephone call with US President Donald Trump on Friday, the Ukrainian leader's spokesman said.

The spokesman told reporters that details of the conversation would follow soon. The phone call took place after talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended in Istanbul, with a Ukrainian source calling Moscow's demands "non-starters".

16/05/2025 - 15:49

Russia, Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 POWs from each side, Ukrainian Defence Minister says

Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told Ukrainian TV on Friday as talks in Istanbul ended.

If the exchange goes ahead, it would be the biggest prisoner swap in more than three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

16/05/2025 - 14:44

Merz says Istanbul talks 'very small' positive signal

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday called the direct talks in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine a "very small" positive signal in the conflict.

"The fact that they are meeting today – first time for three and a half years – is a very small but first positive signal," Merz told a gathering of European leaders in Tirana.

16/05/2025 - 14:41

Ukraine-Russia talks end: Turkish foreign ministry source

Russians and Ukrainians ended their first face-to-face talks in over three years, a meeting in Istanbul for talks, a Turkish foreign ministry source said. 

"The meeting is over," the source said of the talks, which began around 1040 GMT and lasted just over 90 minutes in a bid to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

16/05/2025 - 14:41

Russia demanding Kyiv give up more land in Istanbul talks, says Kyiv

Russian negotiators at talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine give up land that is still under Kyiv's control, a Ukrainian diplomatic source told AFP on Friday, accusing them of making "unacceptable" demands to derail negotiations.

"Russian representatives are putting forward unacceptable demands... such as for Ukraine to withdraw forces from large parts of Ukrainian territory it controls in order for a ceasefire to begin," the source said.

16/05/2025 - 14:05

Macron urges pressure on Russia to achieve Ukraine ceasefire

French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Russia of having "no desire" for a ceasefire in Ukraine, telling European leaders that ramping up pressure on Moscow was the only way to force a change.

"I believe that the last few hours have shown that Russia has no desire for a ceasefire, and that if there is no increased pressure from the Europeans and the Americans to achieve this result, it will not happen by itself," Macron told a meeting of European leaders in Tirana.

16/05/2025 - 14:03

Zelensky urges 'strong reaction' against Moscow if talks fail

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for "strong" Western action against Moscow, including new sanctions, if peace talks in Istanbul fail to produce a breakthrough.

"We had a real chance to take important steps toward ending this war if only Putin had not been afraid to come to Turkey," Zelensky told European leaders gathered in Tirana.

"If it turns out that the Russian delegation really is just theatrical and can't deliver any results today... there needs to be a strong reaction, including sanctions against Russia's energy sector and banks," he said.

16/05/2025 - 13:10
16/05/2025 - 13:07

At talks, Turkey says ‘critical’ Ukraine ceasefire starts soon

As the talks between Ukraine and Russia got underway, Turkey said it is critical to have a Ukraine ceasefire “as soon as possible”.

“While the war continues to take lives, it is of critical importance that the ceasefire be implemented as soon as possible,” he said at the opening of the talks at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace. 

A photograph released by the Ukrainian foreign ministry showed the Russian and Ukrainian delegations sitting opposite each other at a U-shaped table, with Turkish representatives at the head of the table.

16/05/2025 - 12:31

Rubio says ‘killing needs to stop’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is calling for an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine.

At a joint meeting in Istanbul with his Ukrainian and Turkish counterparts, they “discussed the importance of seeking a peaceful end to the Russia-Ukraine war”, with Rubio “reiterating the US position that the killing needs to stop”, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

16/05/2025 - 12:21

EU readying new sanctions to increase pressure on Russia

The European Union is working on a new package of sanctions to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said as leaders from across Europe met in Tirana.

The EU, however, has already adopted 17 sanction packages - the latest one this week - and diplomats say it is increasingly difficult to get the necessary unanimity among the bloc’s 27 members to pass new measures.

“He does not want peace, so we have to increase the pressure, and this is why we are working on a new package of sanctions,” von der Leyen said, referring to Putin, before the European Political Community summit in Albania.

“This package will include for instance sanctions on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. It will include working on listing more vessels of the Russian shadow fleet and also lowering the oil price cap, and also more sanctions on the financial sector in Russia.”

16/05/2025 - 12:09

Russian, Ukrainian delegations meet in Istanbul

TV footage shows that the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are now meeting in Istanbul.

16/05/2025 - 12:08

Putin-Trump meeting ‘essential’, Kremlin says

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump is essential but that it requires considerable advance preparation and has to yield results.

Peskov said such a meeting was essential to discuss Russia-US ties, Ukraine and other international issues.

16/05/2025 - 12:02

US, Russian officials start meeting in Istanbul on Ukraine

US and Russian officials have started their meeting t an Istanbul hotel on the sidelines of Ukraine talks being led by Turkey, a US official said.

Michael Anton, the director of policy planning at the State Department, began closed-door talks with Vladimir Medinsky, a hawkish Kremlin aide sent to lead the discussions with Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to take part.

16/05/2025 - 11:57

Russia claims capture of village in east Ukraine

Russian troops have captured the village of Vilne Pole in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry said.

The battlefield report could not immediately be verified.

16/05/2025 - 11:54

Head of Russian delegation in Istanbul has arrived for talks with US

Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia’s delegation for peace talks with Ukraine, has arrived for a meeting with a US government official at a hotel in Istanbul, according to a Reuters witness.

16/05/2025 - 11:53

Russia demands talks with Ukraine take place without US, Turkish representatives, source says

A Ukrainian diplomatic source said that Russia is demanding that talks with Ukraine take place without any US and Turkish representatives.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)