Russia says ready to resume Istanbul talks with Ukraine

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul but Kyiv has not yet responded to earlier proposals, Russia’s charge d’affaires in Türkiye Alexey Ivanov said on Wednesday.

“The Russian side has repeatedly emphasized that we are ready to continue direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side. Our Turkish partners have also consistently stressed that the Istanbul platform remains available to us — these doors remain open,” Ivanov told Russia's state news agency TASS.

He said Russia had previously presented several initiatives, including proposals to form three online working groups, but “unfortunately, we have not yet received a positive response from the Ukrainian side.”

Ivanov added that Moscow remains open to dialogue “if Kyiv shows political will.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, who leads Kyiv’s delegation for direct talks with Russia, arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday.

He said on Telegram that his visit aimed to resume the exchange of prisoners of war. “These days, I will be working in Türkiye and the Middle East to unblock the exchange process. There was an agreement, and we need to implement it,” he said.

Russia and Ukraine held three rounds of renewed peace talks in Istanbul this year, agreeing on the exchange of prisoners and civilians. They also shared memorandums outlining their respective missions to end the war that began in February 2022.

Moscow had proposed creating three online working groups to address political, military, and humanitarian issues, but progress appears to have stalled since then.

Besides Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar to a lesser extent, have also played roles in mediating humanitarian exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.