Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that further concessions from Ukraine during negotiations would be unreasonable if Russia continues to attack civilian targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, will travel to Istanbul for possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Reuters reported on May 13, citing three undisclosed sources.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
President Volodymyr Zelensky's spokesperson Sergii Nykyforov. (Presidential Office)
Participants of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland will formulate a common negotiating position on the end of the war and submit it to Russia, presidential spokesperson Sergii Nykyforov said on May 3, according to Deutsche Welle.
Ukraine's peace summit will be held on June 15-16 in the Burgenstock resort above Lake Lucerne, and 160 national delegations will be invited to the talks.
Russia, the aggressor in the ongoing war, will not be invited "at this stage" of the talks, the Swiss government said.
"Ukraine and Switzerland are organizing a peace summit where countries that respect international law and the U.N. Charter should develop a common negotiating position and submit it to Russia," Nykyforov said.
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His statement came after Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said in an interview with the Economist that he sees no way for Ukraine to win a war on the battlefield alone and that "such wars can only end with treaties."
Several positions on certain points of Ukraine's peace formula may be agreed at the upcoming summit, including radiation safety, prisoners exchange, freedom of navigation and food safety, Nykyforov told Ukrainska Pravda.
"This will be the first step towards a just peace," he said.
The formula envisages withdrawing all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, release of all prisoners of war and deportees, preventing ecocide in Ukraine, and punishing those responsible for war crimes.
Andreas Umland
