Moscow demands Kyiv pull back troops before ceasefire
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ISTANBUL: Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks said.
The Kremlin declined to comment on the terms that Russia had put forward at Friday’s meeting in Turkiye — the first time the warring sides had held face-to-face talks since March 2022, weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The talks lasted only one hour and 40 minutes, and yielded an agreement to trade 1,000 prisoners of war on each side. The two countries have not specified when that would happen.
Ukraine and Western governments, including the US, have demanded that Russia agree to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire lasting at least 30 days. But the Ukrainian source said Moscow’s negotiators had demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, with a ceasefire to take place only after that.
Russia says Putin-Zelensky meeting possible only after agreement
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Saturday for stronger sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine.
“Yesterday, as on any day of this war, there was an opportunity to cease fire,” Zelensky wrote on social media following the attack, adding that “Russia only retains the opportunity to continue killing”. “This was a deliberate killing of civilians,” he said. “Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy.”
Russia, which denies targeting civilians, said it struck a military target in Sumy. Its defence ministry said Russian troops had captured another settlement in eastern Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and welcomed the “positive role” of the United States in helping to secure a resumption of talks between Russia and Ukraine. “(Lavrov) confirmed Moscow’s readiness to continue joint work with American colleagues in this context,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The source said other demands went beyond the terms of a draft peace deal that the United States proposed last month after consultations with Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the Ukrainian account, saying talks should be conducted “absolutely behind closed doors”.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country, after hosting the talks, was determined to continue its mediation role.
Putin-Zelensky meeting
The Kremlin said on Saturday a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement.
Ukraine’s top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the “next step” after the Friday’s talks would be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Russia said it took note of the request. “We consider it possible, but only as a result of the work and upon achieving certain results in the form of an agreement between the two sides,” the Kremlin’s spokesman said.
Zelensky had challenged Putin earlier in the week to meet him in person, an offer the Russian leader ignored. Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky said that Moscow and Kyiv would “present their vision of a possible future ceasefire”, without saying when.
The Kremlin said that first the POW swap must be completed and both sides need to present their visions for a ceasefire before fixing the next round of talks. “For now, we need to do what the delegations agreed on yesterday (Friday)” in Turkiye, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that “this, of course, means first and foremost to complete a 1,000 for 1,000 swap”.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence Kirillo Budanov told broadcaster TSN he hoped the exchange would happen next week and that he saw no hurdles to the swap.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2025
