Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Kick Off in Istanbul

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a ceasefire as Russian and Ukrainian delegations resumed their talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, meeting face to face, on Russia’s invasion of its neighbor last month.

In a speech he delivered at the start of negotiations, Erdogan said progress in the talks could pave the way for a meeting between leaders of the two countries.

“We believe that there will be no losers in a just peace. Prolonging the conflict is not in anyone’s interest,” Erdogan said. “As members of the delegations you have taken on a historic responsibility. The whole world is awaiting the good news that will come from you.”

“The two parties have legitimate concerns, it’s possible to reach a solution acceptable to the international community,” Erdogan said.

“It’s up to the two parties to put an end to this tragedy,” he insisted, adding that the “extension of the conflict is in no one’s interest.” It is the first time that the two countries’ delegations, who arrived in Turkey on Monday, met after several rounds of talks by videoconference.

The delegations are scheduled to hold two days of talks in a government building adjacent to the 19th-century Ottoman palace, Dolmabahce, on the shores of the Bosporus.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was also due to meet the Ukrainian and Russian delegations on Tuesday.

Earlier talks between the sides, held in person in Belarus or by video, failed to make progress on ending the monthlong war that has killed thousands and driven more than 10 million Ukrainians from their homes — including almost 4 million from their country.

Turkey previously hosted on March 10 the first meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Those talks in the southern city of Antalya failed to produce a ceasefire or make any other visible progress.

Turkey, which shares a Black Sea coast with both Russia and Ukraine, is seeking to maintain good relations with both and has offered to mediate since the start of the war.