Ukraine and Russia agree large POW swap
Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, defence minister Rustem Umerov told Ukrainian TV on Friday as talks in Istanbul ended.
If the exchange goes ahead, it would be the biggest prisoner swap in more than three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Key events
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agree ‘in principle’ to meet again, says Turkey
Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan, who chaired today’s talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Istanbul, said Friday’s meeting was an “important day for world peace”.
In a statement posted to X, Fidan said both sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each as a “confidence-building measure”.
Russian and Ukrainian officials also agreed to “share with the other side in writing the conditions that would make it possible to reach a ceasefire,” he wrote, adding:
The parties also agreed in principle to meet again.
He added that Turkey will continue to “make every effort to make it possible to achieve lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
Ukraine ‘ready to take fastest possible steps to peace’, says Zelenskyy after call with Trump
Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed he has spoken with Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk on Friday.
In a statement posted on social media, the Ukrainian leader wrote:
Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace, and it is important that the world holds a strong stance.
Our position — if the Russians reject a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings, tough sanctions must follow. Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war.
Thank you to everyone in the world who is helping.
Officials from Ukraine and Russia opened direct peace talks in Istanbul on Friday – without Vladimir Putin or Volodymyr Zelenskyy – for the first time in more than three years, but hopes for any meaningful breakthrough are limited.
Russia’s ‘unacceptable’ stance raised with Trump, says Starmer
British prime minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that he and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland as well as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy had agreed the Russian position in peace talks was “unacceptable” and had discussed the matter with US president Donald Trump.
Speaking alongside French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk at the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Starmer said the leaders were closely “aligning” on their response.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, British prime minister Keir Starmer and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk held a telephone call with US president Donald Trump on Friday, the Ukrainian leader’s spokesperson said.
The spokesperson told reporters that details of the conversation would follow soon.
The phone call took place after talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended in Istanbul, with a Ukrainian source calling Moscow’s demands “non-starters”.
Ukraine and Russia agree large POW swap
Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, defence minister Rustem Umerov told Ukrainian TV on Friday as talks in Istanbul ended.
If the exchange goes ahead, it would be the biggest prisoner swap in more than three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia introduced new ‘unacceptable demands’ for Ukraine to withdraw forces in talks
A Ukrainian official at the talks on Friday accused the Kremlin of introducing new “unacceptable demands” for Kyiv to withdraw its forces from huge swathes of territory, according to the official.
The official spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to make official statements.
The talks came after more than three months of diplomacy kickstarted by US president Donald Trump, who promised during his campaign to end the devastating war swiftly.
Pjotr Sauer
Russian and Ukrainian officials opened direct peace talks in Istanbul on Friday – without Vladimir Putin or Volodomyr Zelenskyy – for the first time in more than three years, but hopes for any meaningful breakthrough are limited.
Images from the meeting held at the Dolmabahce Palace were stark: a row of Russian delegates in dark suits and opposite them Ukrainians wearing their trademark green camouflage combat fatigues.
Before the meeting, the Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, addressed Russian and Ukrainian negotiators at the palace on the Bosphorus.
“There are two paths today: one leads to peace, and the other will cause more destruction and loss of life. Both sides will choose which path to take,” he told the negotiating teams.
The talks began 24 hours later than planned after a day of confusion and political theatrics.
The first direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years lasted well under two hours, and there was no apparent sign of progress.
A Ukrainian source told Reuters that Moscow’s demands were “non-starters”.
The Ukrainian source told the news agency that Russia’s demands were “detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed”. They included “non-starters and non-constructive conditions.”
There was no immediate word from the Russian side.
Here is a video clip of Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking earlier. The Ukrainian president said his “number one priority is a full, unconditional and honest ceasefire.”
The US state department has issued a short statement about Marco Rubio’s presence at today’s talks in Istanbul. It said:
Secretary Rubio met with Ukrainian defence minister Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, and Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan today in Istanbul.
The three delegations discussed the importance of seeking a peaceful end to the Russia-Ukraine war. The secretary noted today’s direct talks between Russia and Ukraine while reiterating the US position that the killing needs to stop.
Secretary Rubio also thanked foreign minister Fidan for hosting these important discussions.
It isn’t quite clear who the US state department statement is referring to, as Andriy Yermak is in Istanbul, but he is Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff. Rustem Umerov is the defence minister, who was leading the Ukrainian delegation. Presumably Rubio met both and there is just some confusion in the statement.
Talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have ended
Turkey’s foreign ministry has informed Reuters that the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have finished.
It was the first direct talks between the two nations since early in 2022, just after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Reuters has a quick snap that a Ukrainian diplomatic source has told the news agency Russia’s demands in Istanbul are unrealistic and go far beyond anything previously discussed.
More details soon …
Zelenskyy: ‘Our number one priority is a ceasefire’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his “number one priority is a full, unconditional and honest ceasefire” during talks with Russia to potentially pave the way for a future peace deal.
“This must happen immediately to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy,” he said during talks between the two countries on Friday, which are being held in Istanbul.
“And if the Russian representatives in Istanbul today cannot even agree to that, to a ceasefire … then it will be 100% clear that Putin continues to undermine diplomacy,” he added, referring to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Kate Connolly
Our Berlin correspondent, Kate Connolly, has more detail on the newly elected German chancellor’s stance on support for Ukraine.
In his TV interview with host Maybrit Illner on Thursday night, German chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed the importance of keeping up the joint European effort to bring about peace, by “speaking with one voice”.
While dampening hopes over the latest efforts to bring about a ceasefire, it was important to keep up the initiative, he said.
Europe was now following this path, and he advocated for it doing so “wherever possible, together with America”, stressing that he was “trying everything “to keep the Americans with us, to keep them on our side.”
Merz said he backed plans to increase pressure on Russia by upping punitive measures against it.
“The next package of sanctions is being prepared,” he said, in reference to a set of new EU measures due to come into force on Tuesday, aimed at nearly 200 ships in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet on the Baltic Sea, which Moscow is using to bypass the oil embargo imposed on it in the wake of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In his opening speech to parliament on Monday, Merz had stressed that Germany’s ongoing support for Ukraine was unquestionable, and pledged to boost the military at home to make Germany’s the “strongest conventional army in Europe”.
A week ago he took a train to Kyiv with the leaders of France and Britain to meet with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an effort to show their joint solidarity with Ukraine and to send a signal to Washington.
Kate Connolly
Our Berlin correspondent, Kate Connolly, has a write-up on the newly elected German chancellor’s change in tone on providing Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Still adjusting to his recent move from opposition leader to German chancellor, Friedrich Merz has been noticeably recalibrating his tone and rhetoric this week, not least as he tries to put a stop to speculation over whether Germany will provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
This was often a sticking point between his predecessor Olaf Scholz, who was not in favour, and his foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, who was backed by Merz – as leader of the then opposition conservatives, who in that role repeatedly gave his full-throttled support for their delivery.)
Speaking on German TV, Merz has now rejected the idea, going so far to claim, even, that discussions on whether to provide Kyiv with the cruise missiles, are no longer taking place within his conservative-social democrat coalition at all.
“We are no longer arguing about this issue in the coalition,” he said on a late-night discussion programme on ZDF, claiming it was not on the agenda “right now”.
“The Taurus has been jazzed up somewhat, as if it were near the nuclear threshold, and that’s wrong”,” he said.
Britain and France were delivering cruise missiles to Ukraine, he added, suggesting this was adequate, even as some military strategists back the idea of Taurus being deployed as a necessity to the war effort.
Merz criticised his predecessors for holding a discussion on the missiles at all, even as he himself waded into it. He now says he had no choice but to speak out on something so significant. To reveal every cough and spit of what Germany was considering was also unhelpful, he said, in the light of the fact that Putin is a fluent German speaker and would be following the debate in Berlin closely.
“Putin speaks good German. He only has to watch the evening news … to know what Germany and the Europeans are planning. That’s a strategic advantage for him and a strategic disadvantage for us,” he said.
Within the last 40 minutes, Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, has reported its correspondents have heard explosions in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Ukraine aims to secure ‘unconditional ceasefire’ as Turkey hosts first direct Russia-Ukraine talks since 2022
Ruth Michaelson
Ruth Michaelson is in Istanbul for the Guardian, and brings this latest round-up of events from there:
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan spoke briefly as tripartite talks with Ukraine and Russia began in Istanbul. Images from the meeting were stark: A row of Russian delegates in dark suits, and opposite them Ukrainians wearing green camouflage combat fatigues.
“There are two paths today: One leads to peace, and the other will cause more destruction and loss of life. Both sides will choose which path to take,” Fidan told the negotiating teams.
“Hosting both sides shows our strong will to end the war,” he said. “We have an opportunity to end the war … in order to take the path of peace we need to take advantage of this opportunity. Every day causes more lives to be lost. While this war is claiming lives, it is critically important that a ceasefire happens as soon as possible.”
The meeting in Istanbul should “prepare for a meeting between the leaders,” he added, in a nod towards Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision not to attend the talks. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said previously that he would be willing to meet with Putin, believing that only a meeting with the Russian president can truly secure an end to the fighting.
Even so, Zelenskyy’s chief aide Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram that Ukraine aims to secure an “unconditional ceasefire” during talks today.
Ukraine aims to secure an “unconditional ceasefire,” at talks with Russian officials in Turkey, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide said. “The Ukrainian delegation is in Istanbul today to achieve an unconditional ceasefire – this is our priority,” he wrote on Telegram.
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