KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking a direct, in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, believing such a summit is essential to secure lasting peace between the two nations.
Zelensky has stated that only a face-to-face encounter can guarantee genuine and eternal peace for both countries. However, Moscow has indicated that such a meeting would be premature until delegations from both sides can establish common ground.
The desire for a direct meeting follows an offer from Putin in May for continued direct negotiations, without preconditions, after Ukraine had unilaterally withdrawn from talks in 2022. In response, Zelensky proposed a meeting in Istanbul.
Ukraine later sent its delegation, influenced by pressure from Washington. As then, two rounds of negotiations have taken place, leading to prisoner exchanges but no substantial progress toward ending the ongoing conflict.
Background and Context of Ukraine-Russia Negotiations
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia escalated significantly with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Prior to this, tensions had been high since 2014, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Initial negotiation attempts in the early stages of the 2022 invasion, including those held in Belarus and Turkey, yielded limited results. Ukraine’s withdrawal from negotiations in 2022 was a significant turning point, leading
