Russia-Ukraine peace talks last under 2 hours; No ceasefire, POW swap agreed

UPDATED: May 17, 2025 02:15 IST

The first direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow’s 2022 invasion concluded abruptly Friday after less than two hours, producing an agreement for a large-scale prisoner swap — but falling far short of progress toward a ceasefire.

While both delegations hailed the planned exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war each as a positive step, the two sides remain sharply divided on the fundamental terms needed to halt the conflict that has gripped Eastern Europe for over three years, Associated Press reported.

“We haven’t received a Russian ‘yes’ on this basic point,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhii said of Kyiv’s core demand for a ceasefire. “If you want to have serious negotiations, you have to have guns silenced.”

Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, struck a more upbeat tone. “We are satisfied with the outcome,” he said, adding that Moscow was open to continued contacts and had agreed to exchange detailed ceasefire proposals with Kyiv.

But behind the diplomatic niceties, tensions persisted.

New ‘Unacceptable’ Russian Demands

According to a senior Ukrainian official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, Russia introduced new, “unacceptable demands” during the session, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from large occupied territories. “This proposal had not been previously discussed,” the official said.

Tykhii confirmed that “the Russian delegation voiced several things that we deem unacceptable,” but noted that Kyiv “was keeping to our line.”

Ukraine, backed by the US and European allies, insists that a temporary ceasefire must be the first concrete step toward ending hostilities. The Kremlin has thus far resisted that condition.

Zelenskyy: Sanctions if Russia Rejects Truce

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attending a European leadership summit in Albania, said he briefed US President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, and Poland on the talks.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Zelenskyy called for “tough sanctions” against Moscow if it fails to accept “a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.”

Chief Ukrainian delegate Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister, said the two sides also discussed a potential meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, which Russia reportedly took under consideration.

Seated opposite each other in Istanbul’s Dolmabahe Palace at a U-shaped table, the delegations kept negotiations civil but far from conciliatory.

“The pressure on the Russian Federation must continue,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia. “We should not really relax at this point.”

A Face-To-Face Between Leaders?

Despite the hardened positions, the suggestion of a head-of-state meeting raised hopes — albeit faint — that higher-level diplomacy might yet play a role in de-escalating the war.

President Trump, who has previously said he could end the conflict swiftly, told reporters he was prepared to meet with Putin “as soon as we can set it up.”

“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi as he wrapped up a trip to the Middle East.