MOSCOW – A senior Russian foreign ministry official stated on Wednesday that Moscow is prepared to return to the negotiating table with Ukraine in Istanbul, reviving a venue last used for talks over a year ago, according to a report from the state news agency TASS.
The announcement comes as the full-scale invasion nears the end of its fourth year, with no recent public diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict. Alexei Polishchuk, the director of the Russian foreign ministry’s Second CIS Department, which handles Ukraine, claimed that Turkish officials have been actively encouraging a restart of the peace process.
“The Russian team is ready for this, the ball is in the Ukrainian court,” Polishchuk was quoted as saying.
A Stalled Process and a Rejected Summit
The last face-to-face negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. While a subsequent round of talks was held virtually on July 23 of that year, no in-person meetings have occurred since.
The brief July 23 meeting, which lasted only 40 minutes, was notable for a specific proposal from the Ukrainian side: a direct summit between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin’s response was conditional. While expressing a willingness to meet, it insisted that any such talks must be held in Moscow—a demand swiftly rejected by Kyiv, which views traveling to the aggressor’s capital as unacceptable under the circumstances.
Divergent Narratives on Responsibility
The renewed offer to talk in Istanbul follows a familiar pattern, with each side blaming the other for the diplomatic deadlock. Moscow consistently portrays itself as open to dialogue, asserting that Ukraine and its Western allies are refusing to engage realistically.
Kyiv and its international partners firmly reject this narrative. They maintain that Russia is not negotiating in good faith and that its stated readiness for talks is a diplomatic ploy to shift blame. Ukrainian officials argue that meaningful negotiations cannot occur while Russia continues its aggressive military campaign and illegally occupies Ukrainian territory.
Furthermore, Ukraine’s position has hardened since the discovery of atrocities in towns like Bucha and the passage of legislation that officially rules out any territorial concessions to Russia. President Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that talks can only begin after Russian forces withdraw from Ukrainian land.
The proposal to use Istanbul again highlights Turkey’s continued role as a key intermediary. Having brokered the now-defunct Black Sea Grain Initiative and facilitated prisoner swaps, Ankara remains one of the few actors maintaining communication channels with both sides. However, given the vast chasm between the warring parties’ stated goals, the path to a new round of substantive peace talks remains deeply uncertain.
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