The third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine is expected to be held in Türkiye's Istanbul soon, according to multiple sources.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine had proposed holding a new round of peace talks with Moscow this week, though no specific date was confirmed.
On Thursday, the TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as saying that the Russian delegation was prepared to travel to Istanbul for a third round of negotiations with Ukraine. However, she noted that Moscow had not yet received any indication from Kyiv regarding its willingness to engage in new talks.
In an interview with CMG, Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that while Russia and Ukraine might reach some consensus on humanitarian issues during their third-round of peace talks, a breakthrough in reaching a comprehensive peace agreement remains unlikely.
He observed that while the previous two rounds of talks had produced preliminary agreements on humanitarian matters, these had yet to be finalized. This round of talk could see deeper discussions on such issues, particularly regarding the exchanges of prisoners of war and the repatriation of soldiers' remains, as both sides have pressing humanitarian concerns to address.
Regarding a potential peace deal, the scholar emphasized the persistent divergence between the two parties' positions. During the last round of negotiations, each side proposed solutions, but their core demands remain irreconcilable. Russia rejects an unconditional ceasefire, while Ukraine insists on ceasing hostilities before discussing other matters. Furthermore, the Ukrainian side refuses to renounce its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership aspirations.
Sun noted that neither Russia nor Ukraine is ready for a complete truce or a comprehensive ceasefire at present, which also casts a shadow to future negotiations. Both Russia and Ukraine are actively exerting pressures on each other on the battlefield, and the scope of the conflict has expanded. The scholar noted that both sides want to gain the initiative on the battlefield and create favorable conditions for future negotiations.
Istanbul to host 3rd round of Russia-Ukraine talks, sources say
