Russia, Ukraine talks fail to reach Ceasefire Deal

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine met for barely an hour in the Turkish city of Istanbul, marking only the second round of negotiations since March 2022. The meeting ended without any breakthrough on the proposed ceasefire.

Despite the subdued atmosphere and brief dialogue, both sides agreed to conduct a new prisoner exchange.

Ukraine stated that Moscow had rejected its call for an unconditional ceasefire, instead offering a partial truce lasting two to three days in selected areas along the frontline.

The two sides also reached an agreement to hand over the bodies of 6,000 killed soldiers.

Russia has said it will only agree to a full ceasefire if Kyiv gives up significant new territories and accepts restrictions on the size of its military.

Moscow has further demanded that Ukraine be banned from joining NATO, reduce its military capability, and end all Western military support. Ukraine has repeatedly rejected these terms, calling them tantamount to surrender.

The countries last held direct talks on May 16 in Istanbul—their first face-to-face negotiations since March 2022. That meeting resulted in an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, the largest such swap since the conflict began.