Russia demanded that Crimea and four other regions be recognised as part of Russia at the talks in Istanbul

During a closed-door meeting in Istanbul on 16 May, Russian representatives put forward a number of demands to the Ukrainian delegation, naming the conditions under which Moscow is ready to cease fire. In particular, it was about Ukraine giving up its territories and claims for reparations.

Bloomberg reports.

According to the report, Moscow demands

• Ukraine's adoption of a neutral status without the presence of foreign troops or weapons of mass destruction;
• renunciation of any claims for war reparations;
• recognition of the loss of Crimea and four other regions that are currently only partially controlled by Russian troops.

The Russian delegation stated that Vladimir Putin would agree to a ceasefire only after Ukraine withdraws its troops from Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions and places them under Russian control. The Kremlin also demands international recognition of all five regions as part of the Russian Federation.

According to the newspaper, these demands contradict the conditions proposed by the United States.

Russia and Ukraine's talks in Turkey

On 11 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his desire to resume direct talks with Ukraine, which were suspended at the end of 2022. He also said that he planned to address Turkish President Recep Erdogan with a proposal to organise the talks.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin' s proposal for direct talks, calling it a «good sign». However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that a ceasefire was needed first to really start a dialogue with Russia. He later stressed that he was looking forward to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey.

In addition, Turkish President Recep Erdogan accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to hold talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on 15 May.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that he had no information on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend the talks. At the same time, he did not rule out the possibility of his own participation in the event.

Late in the evening of 14 May, the Kremlin approved the official list of Russian representatives to participate in peace talks with Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the delegates.

On the day of the talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian delegation had arrived in Ankara in full force and was ready for real solutions to achieve a just peace. The composition of the Russian delegation is still unknown and, according to the head of state, resembles «a prop level».

After the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the negotiation process with Russia, saying that Ukraine was ready to take all steps to end the war and urged Vladimir Putin to give the Russian delegation decision-making powers.

Later, it became known that Ukraine and Russia discussed a ceasefire and the exchange of prisoners of war in the format of «thousand for thousand» during the talks in Istanbul.

However, the Ukrainian and Russian sides agreed to meet again during the talks in Istanbul on 16 May.