Istanbul (AFP) — Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet Monday in Istanbul to exchange their plans for how to end the three-year war, Europe’s largest conflict since World War II, after Kyiv says it struck dozens of strategic bombers parked at airbases deep in Russia.
Urged on by United States President Donald Trump, Moscow and Kyiv have opened direct negotiations for the first time since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion but have yet to make significant progress towards an elusive agreement.
Monday’s talks come a day after Ukraine carried out one of its most brazen and successful attacks ever on Russian soil — hitting dozens of strategic bombers parked at airbases thousands of kilometers behind the front line.
At the first round of talks in Istanbul last month, they agreed a large-scale prisoner exchange and to swap notes on what their vision of a peace deal might look like.
The second set of negotiations is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, an Ottoman imperial house on the banks of the Bosphorus that is now a luxury five-star hotel.
Russia says it will present a “memorandum” of its peace terms, having resisted pressure by Ukraine to send its demands in advance.
Despite the flurry of diplomacy, the two sides remain far apart over a possible deal — either for a truce or longer-term settlement.