Summary of the day so far
It’s just past 8pm in Moscow, Kyiv and Istanbul. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks since 2022 in Istanbul, but without reaching any meaningful breakthrough. Neither Vladimir Putin nor Volodymyr Zelenskyy were present at the meeting held at the Dolmabahce Palace, which lasted just under two hours. Expectations were already low for the talks, with US officials playing down hopes and Moscow showing little willingness to compromise.
The only tangible result of the Istanbul talks was that Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each – the largest prisoner swap of the conflict. Ukraine had pushed for a 30-day ceasefire before the talks. Moscow rejected this, appearing to stick to its maximalist demands, including sweeping restrictions on Ukrainian sovereignty.
The meeting represents a symbolic win for Putin and will likely be seen as a setback for Zelenskyy. The Russian leader has been engaged in a delicate balancing act with Donald Trump, appearing to support peace talks to stay in Trump’s favour, while pushing for terms that in effect amount to Ukraine’s capitulation.
Moscow was satisfied with the results of the meeting and was prepared to keep talking to Kyiv, said Vladimir Medinsky, the ultra-conservative head of Russia’s delegation. Moscow has “taken note” of the Ukrainian request for Putin to meet Zelenskyy, he added.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said the “next step” would be for Zelenskyy and Putin to hold direct talks. He said Ukraine’s priority had been “people” and described the prisoner exchange agreement as an “important achievement”. A Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson said the Russian delegation “voiced a number of things which we deem unacceptable” during talks in Istanbul.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his “number one priority is a full, unconditional and honest ceasefire”. “This must happen immediately to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy,” he said as talks were held in Istanbul, as he renewed calls for sanctions on Moscow if it failed to agree to a ceasefire.
Pope Leo XIV has suggested holding peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Vatican. The Vatican described the outcome of talks in Istanbul this week as “tragic” and said the pope
”plans to make the Vatican, the Holy See, available for a direct meeting between the two sides.The leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Poland held a call on Friday with Donald Trump to discuss Ukraine. Keir Starmer said the leaders had begun “closely aligning” a response to Russia’s “unacceptable” position in Ukraine peace talks, suggesting a concerted move by some western leaders to intensify sanctions if the Kremlin does not agree to a ceasefire, with Russian energy likely to be a target.
The former US ambassador to Ukraine said she resigned from her post because of Donald Trump’s policy of “appeasement” in the war launched by Russia. Bridget Brink, who resigned last month, said she “cannot stand by while a country is invaded, a democracy bombarded, and children killed with impunity.”
Pope Leo offers Vatican for Ukraine peace talks
Pope Leo XIV has suggested holding peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Vatican.
According to Politico, the Vatican described the outcome of talks in Istanbul this week as “tragic” after Vladimir Putin refused to appear for face-to-face talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, told reporters on Friday:
This is all tragic because we hoped that it would be a, maybe slow, process, but with a peaceful solution to the conflict, and instead we are back at the beginning. Now we will see what to do, but the situation is difficult.
“The pope plans to make the Vatican, the Holy See, available for a direct meeting between the two sides,” he added.
