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Editor's note: The story was updated with confirmation of the meeting and comments from Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak.
Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with French, German, U.K., and U.S. officials in Istanbul on May 16, Yermak said.
Ukrainian officials held talks with U.K. Prime Minister’s National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell, French President’s Diplomatic Advisor Emmanuel Bonne, German Chancellor’s Foreign and Security Policy Advisor Günter Sautter, as well as with U.S. Donald Trump's Special Envoy Keith Kellogg.
"Ukraine is ready for peace and for a lasting, unconditional ceasefire. We are also prepared for meetings and negotiations at the highest level," Yermak wrote on X.
The meeting took place ahead of the anticipated talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations, with Turkish officials also expected to participate.
The meetings would mark the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the unsuccessful peace talks in Istanbul in 2022.
After Moscow proposed to hold peace talks in Turkey this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed and invited Russian President Vladimir Putin for a face-to-face meeting. The Russian leader declined to attend and appointed his aide, Vladimir Medinsky, who represented Russia at the 2022 negotiations, to lead the talks.
The Ukrainian delegation that arrived in Turkey on May 15 consisted of top Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, representatives of the Presidential Office, the military, and intelligence agencies.
However, after a three-hour meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Zelensky announced that a smaller delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov would travel to Istanbul to discuss a potential ceasefire.
Kyiv and its partners have urged Moscow to adopt an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as the first step toward a broader peace deal, a move that Russia continues to reject.
Alex Cadier
