Ukraine is preparing for peace talks with Russia in Istanbul. This event symbolizes the new, tipping point in the ongoing war between the two countries. The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced the planned meetings. These talks are sure to usher in an era of conversation after years of contempt.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine will send a delegation to the discussions, signaling a willingness to explore avenues for peace. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will head up Ukraine’s delegation. He will be expected to address the most critical issues that have poisoned the well on Ukraine-Russia relations.
Russia too has mustered its own delegation and dispatched it to TAIF. This triumphant group is comprised of two deputy ministers and the military chief of the secret service. This is a good sign, as it means that both countries are willing to negotiate, but expectations for these negotiations are still low.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he has little hope as to what the negotiations would produce. To that end, he announced that he was indeed sending a delegation from Ukraine. He pointed out that what is needed is a sincere and honest discussion among the two different sides. Rubio tried to downplay expectations for a miraculous breakthrough. Yet this meeting is really important because it’s the first time Ukraine and Russia will have been in the same room for three years.
Rubio addressed the current state of expectations, stating, “I want to be frank we don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow.” He further elaborated, “At this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we are going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin.”
To that end, President Trump has repeatedly offered to mediate a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rubio highlighted the importance of direct interaction, saying, “Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.” He stressed the importance of having an in-person discussion. He opines that this forthcoming meeting could determine if a way forward to peace can be achieved.
The Russian delegation’s lack of seniority does not bode well for breakthroughs anytime soon. Clearly, as Rubio said, Russia is all ears when it comes to talking about “compromises.” He warned that Russia’s demands are still very much maximalist, indicating that a very tough road still exists in parsing between these negotiations.
Marco Rubio plans to meet with senior Turkish and Ukrainian officials and will engage with the Ukrainian delegation on Friday. He reiterated his concerns regarding the potential effectiveness of these discussions, stating, “The president’s willing to stick with this as long as it takes to achieve peace. What we cannot do is continue to fly all over the world and engage in meetings that are not going to be productive again.”
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