On Monday, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met face to face in Istanbul for their second round of direct peace negotiations. Instead, the summit ended abruptly, producing scant concrete outcomes. The discussions began late and lasted barely over an hour, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of failing to circulate its memorandum ahead of time. He maintained that all of this data is key to having an honest, constructive conversation. He stated, “If today’s meeting brings nothing, that clearly means strong new sanctions are urgently, urgently needed.” Zelensky’s statements highlighted the sense of urgency that he believes is warranted with respect to the negotiations and prevailing situation on the ground.
In response, Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, disputed nearly every point made by Zelensky. He claimed that Moscow had delivered to Ukraine a “very detailed and well-developed” treaty in the negotiations. The absence of any significant results had many stakeholders doubting just how sincere either side was in pursuing the peace we all hoped for.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan chaired the deliberations. He underscored the importance of having strong bilateral relations by playing a key role in fostering consistent and open dialogue between the two countries. The hopes for meaningful progress were tempered by the prevailing tensions, as Zelensky noted, “This is a special moment – on the one hand, Russia has launched its summer offensive, but on the other hand, they are being forced to engage in diplomacy.”
Compounding the already strained atmosphere was a recent Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers. Codenamed “Spiderweb,” this operation has since turned into one of Ukraine’s most impactful strikes against the Russian war machine. It heralds a new phase in over three years of all-out war. Ukrainian security service, better known by its acronym SBU, thwarted a major attack. They then through distribution networks smuggled their drones into Russia by making the drones fit cleverly inside wooden mobile homes on flatbed trucks.
To counteract the rising tensions, Moscow unleashed an unprecedented 472 drones on Ukraine. This attack came barely hours before the peace talks were due to start on Monday. The head of the SBU, Vasul Malyuk, claimed that the drone attack caused around $7 billion in damages. It has neutralized 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers — a total of 41 planes.
Against this backdrop of increasingly dire military developments, Ukraine continues to seek an avenue for dialogue. The country has long pressed for a 30-day proposed ceasefire. They view it as a litmus test for Russia’s seriousness about ending the fighting. Furthermore, Ukraine has proposed a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin by the end of this month to potentially expedite peace efforts.
Like at their most recent negotiations in Istanbul, each delegation seemed to want to see movement, even if actual results continue to be hard to find. “Despite this, we will attempt to achieve at least some progress on the path toward peace,” Zelensky remarked, emphasizing his willingness to engage further.
Putin muddied the waters further by proposing direct negotiations in Turkey. In the end, he did not show up to that meeting — despite the fact that Zelensky had already committed himself to being there. This lack has created skepticism over Russia’s willingness to engage in good faith negotiations.
