Russia and Ukraine Agree to Exchange Visions of Possible Ceasefire Scenarios

As a result of the talks in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine have agreed that each side will present its vision of a possible ceasefire in written form, the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky said.

The talks between Moscow and Kyiv began at approximately 1:35 p.m. Moscow time and lasted less than two hours. Initially, news agencies reported the negotiations had ended around 3:20 p. m., but Interfax and RIA Novosti later stated that the negotiators had taken a break and remained inside the Dolmabahçe Palace. However, sources from TASS and RBC Ukraine subsequently confirmed that the talks had indeed concluded.

The negotiations were held behind closed doors. The delegations did not exchange handshakes before the meeting. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the session with welcoming remarks.

Fidan emphasized that after the Russia-Ukraine meeting, there would be two possible paths:

"One path leads us to peace, the other will bring even greater destruction."

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Hakan Fidan (born on 17 July 1968) is a Turkish politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs since June 2023. He was previously the director of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) from March 2010 until June 2023. Fidan is seen as a possible successor to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the President of Turkey.