New Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey after Trump's request for peace

New Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey after Trump's request for peace

Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Istanbul have started their third direct . This happened a few days after US President Donald Trump Moscow set a period of 50 days to close peace or to expect "very high tariffs".

Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far not publicly recognized Trump's ultimatum. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to bomb Ukrainian cities and brings its floor troops forward

previous conversations and progress

In the two previous rounds of talks in Istanbul, which took place in May and June, the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of fallen soldiers succeeded. With regard to a possible ceasefire, however, little progress was made.

expectations and discussion

Before the latest talks on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to dampen expectations and emphasized that the negotiation positions on both sides are still "diametrically opposed".

"Nobody expects a simple way. It will be a very difficult discussion," said Peskov on Wednesday. The day before, he had told the reporters that they shouldn't count on "miraculous breakthroughs".

The delegations

Peskov confirmed that the Russian delegation remains unchanged and is led by Wladimir Medinski, a former Minister of Culture and now a close consultant of Putin. The Ukrainian delegation is managed by Rustem Umerov, the former Defense Minister, who was already there in the two previous meetings.

losses on the Russian side

In the past month, the Russian losses reached a sad milestone because the British Ministry of Defense estimated that Putin's war has cost Russia more than 1 million victims since the beginning of the comprehensive invasion.

This number coincides with an assessment of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, DC, which estimated the number of losses to 950,000 and predicted that "Russia is expected to exceed 1 million victims in the summer of 2025".

Putin's adamant attitude

Despite these losses, the Russian President shows little signs of giving in with regard to his maximum war goals that aim to undermine the sovereignty of Ukraine. In a long essay that was published months before the extensive invasion, Putin incorrectly argued that Russia and Ukraine were a country; His comments make many believe that this war has been waged to make this a reality.

US measures to support Ukraine

In addition to Trump's new threat of sanctions against Russia and other countries that buy Russian oil, if no peace is reached within 50 days, the United States has also made an agreement to deliver new weapons about European allies to Kiev. These measures are clearly contrary to the previous approaches that Trump has followed in conflict.

Trump's change of course came after the European Union unveiled a new sanction package that provides for a lower price lid for Russian oil exports and introduces a complete ban on transaction for Russian banks and financial institutions in third countries that help Russia bypassing existing sanctions.

the possibility of a turning point

It remains unclear whether Trump's latest decisions will influence Moscow's approach. However, his change of course could bring an urgently needed thrust for the military coffers of Ukraine and shows its growing frustration with Putin.

"My conversations with him are very pleasant, and then the rockets rise at night," said Trump last week.

Zelenksy's demand for a meeting with Putin

Before the talks, the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj repeated his call for a direct meeting with Putin and emphasized that only a meeting of the two heads of state could end the war.