Putin: Russia ready for talks with Ukraine only if based on Istanbul 2022 agreements
Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is willing to hold peace talks with Ukraine, but only on the basis of the terms agreed during the negotiations in Istanbul in 2022, which were widely viewed as unfavourable to Ukraine.
Source: Putin during an operational meeting with members of the government, as quoted by Russian media outlets
Quote: "Russia is ready for peace negotiations with Ukraine. Ready on the basis of the agreements that were reached in Istanbul and, let me remind you, that were initialled by the Ukrainian delegation. So they were satisfied with everything at the time. I see no reason for us to move away from those agreements.
On the basis of the agreements reached in Istanbul, on the basis of the modalities discussed in Anchorage and, most importantly, on the basis of the realities on the ground, as well as the principles I outlined several years ago during my address at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
Details: Putin also claimed that the so-called "Kyiv regime" is attempting to create the impression that it holds strong positions ahead of potential negotiations.
He believes, however, that Ukraine is not in a strong position and is merely trying to project one. According to Putin, "the realities on the battlefield look completely different".
He further claimed that Russian military units are advancing every day.
Previously: According to media reports, the Russian side in Istanbul demanded that US representatives be excluded from the talks with the Ukrainian delegation and put forward a number of conditions that were deemed unacceptable to Ukraine from the outset.
Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation in Istanbul, said during the negotiations that Russia was prepared to "fight forever" against Ukraine and threatened to seize Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts as well. "We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you prepared to fight?" Medinsky asked the Ukrainian side.
Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the talks, that during a closed-door meeting in Istanbul on 16 May, the Russian representatives presented a number of demands to the Ukrainian delegation, outlining the conditions on which Moscow would be prepared to agree to a ceasefire. These included Ukraine renouncing territory and giving up any claims for reparations.
Background:
- On 15 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had proposed meeting Putin at the G7 summit in France for talks on ending the war, but that Russia was "not ready to talk".
- On 4 June, Zelenskyy sent an open letter to Putin proposing a face-to-face bilateral meeting to end the war. He also said that Europe and the US should be involved in the negotiations.
- US President Donald Trump was supportive of the idea of a bilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia.
- Meanwhile, the Kremlin leader said that he had read Zelenskyy's open letter and saw no point in holding such a meeting.
- In September 2025, Putin made it clear that he has no intention of travelling anywhere for talks with Zelenskyy, but is prepared to meet him in Moscow.
- This is unacceptable to Ukraine. In autumn 2025, the head of the President's Office stated that Zelenskyy is willing to meet Putin in any country in the world except Russia and Belarus.
- Since then, Russian officials have repeatedly claimed that they are willing to meet, but only in Moscow.
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