All eyes are on Istanbul ahead of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled for Monday, with both delegations having already arrived in the city.
The second round of talks between the two parties is expected to take place at 1000 GMT on Monday at Istanbul’s historic Ciragan Palace.
The talks will be chaired by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and are expected to bring together senior officials from all three countries. Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalin is also slated to attend.
Immediately after the war broke out in February 2022, Türkiye brought Russia and Ukraine together at the same table in both Antalya and Istanbul.
In May this year, Türkiye once again succeeded in hosting the two parties for their first negotiations in more than three years of conflict. The talks were held on 16 May at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace.
The two sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each in the May 16 talks, to present their views on a possible ceasefire in detail, and to continue the negotiations. They announced that the prisoner swap was completed on May 25.
With international actors frequently expressed their satisfaction with the start of the process in Istanbul, the talks hosted by Türkiye also received wide coverage in the world press.
Türkiye continues mediation efforts
Türkiye has continued to work towards peace between Russia and Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visiting Moscow on May 26-27 and Kiev on May 29-30.
In Moscow, Fidan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and also held meetings with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and high-level officials.
"Russia's preference for Istanbul as the venue for direct negotiations with Ukraine is a manifestation of the common understanding of our countries aimed at establishing stability," Fidan said in his meeting with Lavrov.
Lavrov said they value Türkiye's reestablishment of opportunities for direct negotiations with Ukraine.
All eyes turned to Türkiye once again when Lavrov announced on May 28 that they proposed to Ukraine to hold the next round of talks in Istanbul on June 2.
He said the delegation headed by Putin's Advisor Vladimir Medinsky is ready to present a memorandum prepared by Russia “on all aspects of overcoming the root causes of the crisis” to the Ukrainian delegation and to “provide the necessary explanations” during the second round of direct negotiations on June 2 and expressed his gratitude to Türkiye.
A senior Russian official said on Sunday that Moscow has received Ukraine’s draft memorandum proposing a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Vladimir Medinsky, Putin’s advisor and head of the Russian delegation for Monday’s Istanbul talks, confirmed the document was submitted in Ukrainian and English. He added that language was not an issue and key points had already been publicised in Western media.
Medinsky also said Russia would announce its position during the talks.
Ukrainian Defence Minister to lead delegation in Istanbul
Following his visit to Russia, Fidan paid a working visit to the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Meeting with high-level Ukrainian officials, especially President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, he reiterated Türkiye's call for a lasting peace at a news conference with Sybiha. Referring to Türkiye's good relations with both sides, he highlighted that progress could definitely be achieved as long as they remained at the negotiation table.
Ukraine initially said that it wanted to see the memorandum prepared by Russia before the second round of negotiations.
Ukrainian President stated on Sunday that despite not receiving any ceasefire proposal from Russia, his government aims to make “at least some progress” towards peace in Istanbul.
The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and include Oleksandr Bevz, advisor to the head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, Oleksandr Diakov, deputy chief of staff of the Naval Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya.
Trump weighs in
US President Donald Trump has pledged to end the war both during his election campaign and after taking office.
US officials who support the negotiation process held high-level phone calls with Russian officials after the first round of talks.
Trump and Putin also spoke by phone on May 19, and Trump said it went well and announced that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would begin immediately.
Trump argued that Russia had been moving slowly in reaching a ceasefire with Ukraine and expressed his dissatisfaction with this.
He said in a statement on his Truth Social platform on May 26 following Russian airstrikes on Ukraine that Putin has "gone crazy."
Russia, meanwhile, said that Trump was “not being informed enough” about Ukraine's “massive terrorist attacks” on Russian cities and Russian officials suggested that his strong statements regarding the war in Ukraine may be a result of "emotional overload."
Trump also criticised Zelenskyy, arguing that the Ukrainian leader did not do his country any favors by talking the way he does.
At the same time, the White House released a statement saying “it is our hope that Russia and Ukraine will engage in direct talks and negotiations next week in Istanbul. And we believe that meeting is going to take place.”
It is not yet clear whether the US will send a representative to these talks.
Conflict intensifies before negotiations
While the parties were preparing to sit at the table in Istanbul, news emerged of violent attacks late Saturday and Sunday.
On Sunday, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said its forces conducted a "large-scale" attack on Russia and that over 40 strategic bombers were destroyed in the strike using drones in various regions, including the Siberian region of Irkutsk, whose administrative center is more than 4,300 kilometres (2,671 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
The attack targeted four airfields, including Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo and Belaya, according to the report.
Russia’s Defence Ministry also issued a statement later Sunday.
The ministry acknowledged drone attacks on five airfields across Russia including in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions. It called the strikes “terrorist attacks” carried out by the “Kiev regime.”
The ministry said the attacks at the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur airfields “were repelled,” while several “pieces of aircraft” caught fire in Murmansk and Irkutsk after drone launches from areas near the airfields.
“Some participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained,” it added.
