Physical Address
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Türkiye on Friday brought together Ukraine and Russia for the second time since the start of war in thanks to diplomatic efforts as part of the Istanbul peace talks.
“We must seize this opportunity to advance on the path to peace,” Fidan said during his opening speech, addressing delegations from both Russia and Ukraine, as well as Turkish mediators.
“While the war continues to take lives, it is of critical importance that the cease-fire be implemented as soon as possible,” he said.
The talks must also work toward bringing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin together, Fidan added.
“It is also very important that these talks form the basis of a leader’s meeting. We wholeheartedly believe it is possible to reach peace through constructive negotiations,” he said.
Fidan opened the meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations around 1:35 p.m. (10:35 a.m. GMT) in Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace.
He sat at the head of a table in front of Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian flags – with Russian and Ukrainian delegations facing each other, footage from the room showed.
Hundreds of journalists were camped outside the palace.
The two sides spent the 24 hours before the talks slinging insults at each other, and Zelenskyy accused Moscow of not being “serious” about peace.
Nevertheless, the fact that the meeting was taking place at all was a sign of movement, with both sides having come under intense pressure from Washington to open talks.
Putin declined to travel to Türkiye for the talks, which he had proposed, sending a second-level delegation instead.
Zelenskyy criticized Russia for not taking the talks “seriously” by despatching people who he said had no power to make decisions.
Both Moscow and Washington have also talked up the need for a meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on the conflict.
“Contacts between Presidents Putin and Trump are extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian settlement,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday, adding that “a meeting is undoubtedly necessary.”
Trump had said Thursday that nothing would be settled until the two leaders met.
‘Unconditional cease-fire’
“Ukraine is ready for peace and a long-term and unconditional cease-fire,” Zelenskyy’s top aide Andriy Yermak said Friday.
“The Ukrainian delegation is in Istanbul today to achieve an unconditional cease-fire – this is our priority,” he added.
Ahead of the talks with Russia, Ukrainian officials held meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg and the national security advisors of Britain, France and Germany.
Rubio “discussed the importance of seeking a peaceful end to the Russia-Ukraine war” and reiterated “the U.S. position that the killing needs to stop,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
Western leaders have criticized Putin for skipping the talks and sending his aide – a former cultural minister who is not seen as a key Kremlin decision-maker – Vladimir Medinsky.
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas charged Friday that Russia was “clearly” not working for peace with Ukraine.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Putin had made a “big mistake” by sending a lower-ranking Russian delegation to Istanbul.
