A meeting between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul. What is known by this hour

Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul. They are being held with the participation of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The parties took a break in the discussion about two hours after the start. What is known about the negotiations and what preceded them is in the Izvestia material.

How did the negotiations go?

• The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since 2022 began on May 16 at approximately 13:37 Moscow time at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. The Russian delegation was represented by Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Igor Kostyukov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and Alexander Fomin, Deputy Minister of Defense.

• Ukraine was represented by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, First Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsa, Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Alexander Poklad, First Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Service Oleg Lugovskoy, Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Vadim Skibitsky and other representatives of the military sector. In total, each delegation consisted of 11 people.

• The negotiations are being mediated by Turkey. They were chaired by the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, Hakan Fidan, who made a welcoming speech at the beginning. He said that the parties should take advantage of the opportunities provided by this meeting, and stressed the importance of a cease-fire. He also stressed that it is important that these negotiations become the basis for a future meeting of the presidents of the countries. Before the event, he noted that the parties need to discuss differences and bring their positions closer. The head of the national intelligence Service, Ibrahim Kalyn, joined Fidan in the negotiations. It is noteworthy that the only person at the meeting who did not wear headphones for simultaneous interpretation during this speech in Turkish was Umerov.

• During the negotiations, the Ukrainian media reported that the parties communicated through an interpreter. However, Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexei Goncharenko (listed in the Russian Federation as a terrorist and extremist) said that representatives of the two countries communicated in Russian.

Territorial principles: how the dialogue between Russia and Ukraine can begin

And what is capable of disrupting the first direct negotiations in three years?

• Shortly before the start of the negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured that Russian President Vladimir Putin receives all information from the negotiating team in Istanbul online. He noted that the guidelines for the negotiating position were determined on May 14 at a meeting before the delegation's departure.

What else happened on May 16

• Prior to the talks between Russia and Ukraine, a trilateral meeting of the delegations of Ukraine, Turkey and the United States took place. It also took place in the Dolmabahce Palace and lasted about an hour. The American mission includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Keith Kellogg and U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Thomas Barrack. Ukraine was represented by Umerov, Ermak and Sibiga, while the Turkish side was represented by Kalyn and Fidan. No statement was issued following the meeting.

• Medinsky also had a separate meeting this morning with Michael Anton, Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State. He recently led the U.S. delegation to the talks with Iran in Oman. After that, Medinsky joined the main Russian delegation in negotiations with Ukraine.