Russian and Ukrainian officials are set to hold another round of peace talks this week amid heavy fighting across the frontline in Ukraine and as the two sides continue to trade major drone attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the talks will take place this Wednesday, July 23, in Istanbul, Turkey. Russian media confirmed the upcoming negotiations, stating that while the delegations may arrive on Wednesday, the talks will be held on Thursday.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, the Russian delegation will again be led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian side will be led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The negotiations will mark the first round of talks between the two sides in seven weeks.
The previous round of negotiations made little progress as the two sides were very far apart on their conditions to end the war, and it doesn’t appear things will be much different this time around, as Moscow has made clear that it won’t give up on its goals despite an ultimatum from President Trump to reach deal in 50 days or face tariffs.
Russia’s main demands to end the war include Ukrainian neutrality and the recognition of the four oblasts Moscow annexed in 2022 as Russian territory, which would require a Ukrainian withdrawal from the territory it still controls in those areas. Zelensky hasn’t shown any signs that he’s willing to concede the territory as long as the US and NATO continue to support his war.
The negotiations Russia and Ukraine held earlier this year marked the first peace talks since the early days of the war, which took place in March and April of 2022. At the time, Russia’s main demand was for Ukrainian neutrality. Those efforts were discouraged by the Biden administration, and later that year, Russia declared its annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts and added the recognition of that territory as part of Russia to its demands to end the war.
