Quiet talks in Istanbul: the first assessments of the next round between Ukraine and Russia have emerged
21 July 2025 19:01
Istanbul may again become a venue for Ukrainian-Russian talks this week. Despite the public silence and lack of official confirmation, diplomatic sources and individual political commentators are increasingly talking about the planned meeting on July 23-24. What is known about the potential third round of talks?
What topics will be on the agenda and whether Ukrainians should expect breakthroughs, or whether these talks are just another “technical contact” in a long diplomatic game – more in the article
This week in Istanbul may be a new round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. According to the Turkish edition of Independent Türkçe, citing diplomatic sources, the meeting is tentatively scheduled for July 23-24.
“According to diplomatic sources, important international diplomatic meetings will be held in Istanbul this week. In addition to talks with European countries on Iran’s nuclear program, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are also expected to take place in the city,” the publication said.
Now the exact information about the place, time and composition of the delegations is not disclosed. At the same time, journalists note that the meeting is likely to take place on Wednesday or Thursday.
According to preliminary information, the parties will focus on such topics as humanitarian aid, exchange of prisoners, security of critical infrastructure and the situation in border areas.
The location of the meeting, preparation of security protocols and logistical arrangements are reportedly underway. The talks are to take place behind closed doors and the results are planned to be made public through written statements.
What is the Ukrainian government saying?
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, proposed that the Russian side hold a meeting next week (July 21-27). And noted that “the negotiation dynamics should be increased”.
“We need to do everything to achieve a ceasefire. And the Russian side should stop hiding from solutions: exchange of prisoners, return of children and cessation of killings”, – emphasized Volodymyr Zelensky.
He also reminded that Ukraine was ready for a meeting at the leaders’ level “to ensure a really long-lasting peace”. Now, according to Zelensky, negotiations on a new exchange of prisoners are continuing with the Russian side.
What is the Kremlin saying?
the Russian Federation is allegedly in favor of holding a new, already third round of talks with Ukraine. This was stated by the representative of the Kremlin dictator Dmitry Peskov, Russian media reported.
According to him, there are no specific dates for the meeting yet, but the composition of the Russian delegation will remain unchanged. It will again be led by former Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky, Putin’s confidant who has already participated in the talks in May and June this year, as well as in the first rounds of 2022.
Peskov acknowledged that the positions of Kiev and Moscow on a possible settlement memorandum diverge dramatically.
“The Russian and Ukrainian drafts of settlement memorandums are diametrically opposed. There is a lot of diplomatic work to be done,” Putin’s spokesman said.
At the same time, as is known from open sources, the Russian side is promoting absolutely unacceptable demands.
In particular, it is about:
- ukraine’s de facto relinquishment of control over part of its territories – including regions that have not even been occupied by Russian troops;
- the complete withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from these regions;
- ukraine’s official neutrality;
- establishment of a limit on the number of the AFU and other security forces;
- a ban on receiving military aid from Western partners;
- exclusion of the presence of armies of third countries on the territory of Ukraine.
Ukraine has previously repeatedly called such demands blackmail and an attempt to legalize the occupation. Official Kiev has not yet commented on Peskov’s further statements.
Technical contact, not a big breakthrough”: professor assessed the next round of negotiations
Information about a possible new round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is circulating in diplomatic and media circles without a loud official announcement. About it in an exclusive commentary for
“Yes, indeed, information about possible negotiations has been leaked not very publicly through various sources. And this already distinguishes the possible current round from the previous ones, which were talked about a lot, but the results were few or not at all what was expected,” – said Sergei Yagodzinsky.
According to Yagodzinski, this time the talks, if they do take place, will be more of a technical nature, rather than an attempt to stop hostilities or achieve a political breakthrough.
“It’s not about a large-scale exchange of prisoners or bodies, not about stopping the shelling of critical infrastructure or cities. Rather, it is a contact that could become the basis for more serious negotiations – involving figures such as Trump, Zelensky or perhaps even Putin himself,” Sergei Jagodzinski said.
Yagodzinsky also recalled unofficial reports about a possible meeting between Putin and Donald Trump in China, emphasizing: such signals indicate that the negotiation process, despite the public silence, is not frozen. So weakly announced negotiations are preparatory work. At the same time, Jagodzinski cautions not to nurture excessive expectations.
“In order not to get depressed by the lack of results, one should understand: without such preparatory technical contacts global summit talks simply will not happen,” – Sergei Jagodzinski.
We shall remind you that earlier the Turkish publication Independent Türkçe reported that a new round of negotiations was being prepared in Istanbul on July 23-24. There has been no official confirmation from Ukraine so far.
