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Counter-invitation: Ankara discusses the third round of negotiations with Moscow and Kiev
Ankara is consulting with Moscow and Kiev to hold a third round of talks as soon as possible, a senior Turkish source told Izvestia. On July 19, Ukraine invited Russia to hold a meeting of the two delegations this week. The Russian leadership is preparing a response and may announce a decision in the near future, said Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee. At the same time, the expert community is confident that only a meeting of the leaders of Russia, the United States and China at the highest level can bring peace closer. The positions of Moscow and Kiev are approaching the third round of negotiations and whether it will be able to accelerate the peace process are described in the Izvestia article.
Preparations for the third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine are once again talking about the possibility of holding the next round of direct negotiations. Istanbul was the venue for the two previous meetings, which took place on May 16 and June 2. Turkey is ready to accept new negotiations, a senior Turkish source told Izvestia.
— In order not to lose the momentum created by the results of the first two rounds of direct negotiations held in Istanbul under the auspices of Turkey, consultations with all interested parties are continuing with a view to holding the third round of negotiations as soon as possible. Turkey remains ready to accept direct negotiations within the time frame agreed by the parties and to continue its efforts to maintain peace," he said.
On July 19, Kiev unexpectedly invited Moscow to hold a meeting of delegations this week. Vladimir Zelensky said that "the negotiating dynamics must be increased." A source in the Russian negotiating group confirmed that Russia has received Ukraine's proposals, but there are no exact dates for the meeting yet. Interestingly, the day before Kiev's proposal, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Russian President declared his principled commitment to finding a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
Moscow's response on its readiness to negotiate with Kiev should be expected in the coming days, Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia.
— If there really was a statement [about Ukraine's readiness for negotiations], I am convinced that it is being seriously considered by the Russian leadership. And, apparently, we will find out the decision in the coming days. If the proposal is accepted, we need to prepare for contacts," he said.
On July 17, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, said that during the third round the parties would discuss the draft memoranda that they exchanged at the previous meeting. They set out the specific conditions for each side to cease fire and establish peace. Grigory Karasin commented with skepticism on the possible positive results of the discussion of the memoranda.
— If we talk from the position of optimism, which is typical for us, then yes, it can bring results. But this optimism is peculiar, in my opinion, only to us, and everyone else is playing some kind of game. I mean the participants in the process, first of all the Kiev authorities," he said.
Russia declared its readiness for the third round of negotiations at the end of June. However, for a long time after the second round, the Ukrainian authorities repeatedly made it clear that they were not interested in continuing the Istanbul negotiation process. So, Vladimir Zelensky previously called it impossible to hold a new meeting until the exchanges agreed upon following the results of previous negotiations are completed. Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Kyslytsa, in turn, argued that the format of the Istanbul talks had almost exhausted itself and a new round of negotiations would make sense if Zelensky and Putin met.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, the Russian leader stressed that he was ready to meet with the President of Ukraine. At the same time, Zelensky's term of office expired back in May 2024, so the question of who from Ukraine will sign the documents following the conflict remains open.
Will the third round of negotiations bring a peaceful settlement closer?
A month and a half has passed since the last Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul. As a result of that meeting, the parties, in particular, agreed on the exchange of prisoners, wounded, and bodies of the dead. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, also said that Ukraine had handed over to Russia a list of 339 children whom Russia allegedly abducted.
The humanitarian agreements of the second round are still being implemented. So, on July 16, Medinsky reported that Moscow had transferred 1,000 military bodies to Kiev, receiving 19 in return. It is possible that the result of the third round of negotiations may be a new humanitarian exchange.
— Russia has repeatedly said that it is ready for negotiations and humanitarian actions, including exchanges and the transfer of bodies. Therefore, where there is this humanitarian need, Russia is certainly developing this topic. The only thing is that, for certain reasons, this should be officially announced exclusively by those people who are authorized to talk about it," Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador—at-large for crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.
Following the results of the second round, Moscow and Kiev exchanged memoranda in which each side outlined its vision for resolving the conflict. Their text was published in the media almost immediately, and the content directly shows how Moscow and Kiev have different views on resolving the crisis.
Thus, the Russian side advocated the neutrality of Ukraine (its refusal to join NATO), the establishment of a maximum number of Armed Forces and the international legal recognition of the entry of Crimea, LNR, DNR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions into the Russian Federation. In Kiev, on the contrary, they abandoned neutrality, declaring their desire to join NATO, and also stressed that all territorial issues should be resolved after a complete ceasefire.
The opposing positions of the Russian Federation and Ukraine are a key problem ahead of a new round of negotiations, Denis Denisov, a political scientist and expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. The expert draws attention to the fact that last time most of the Ukrainian delegation consisted of military personnel who are authorized to negotiate only a truce, but not about territorial issues and a political settlement.
If we are talking about resuming negotiations in the format in which the first two rounds were conducted, then a new meeting will not bring both sides closer to peace, says Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club. The reason lies in the fact that the powers of the negotiators are seriously limited.
— I do not think that the resumption of dialogue at this level can somehow reverse the overall dynamics of the conflict. The parties can agree on technical issues and formulate ideas about disagreements, but it seems that other people at the highest level should overcome these differences," he told Izvestia.
A discussion of peace in Ukraine in a different format could take place during a potential meeting of the leaders of Russia, China and the United States, says Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation. The Times recently reported that Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping may meet in September 2025 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
— The summit should lead to peace in Ukraine rather than bilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Because in this case, there will be people who really have the levers to transform the world space, who can really fight and negotiate with each other," Bogdan Bezpalko told Izvestia.
At the same time, Donald Trump's ultimatum on the need to achieve peace in the next 50 days is unlikely to have a serious impact on Moscow, Andrei Kortunov believes.
"Based on past experience, we know that Russia does not make concessions under sanctions pressure,— he said.
Earlier, the US president promised to impose import duties of 100% on Russia and its trading partners if peace could not be concluded in 50 days.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
