Don't expect miracles in new peace talks, Russia warns

Yahoo

22-07-2025

Russia has warned there will be no 'miracles' in a third round of direct peace talks with Ukraine set for Wednesday.
Delegates from Kyiv and Moscow are due to meet in Istanbul, but the sides remain far apart on how to end the war started by Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion on Feb 24, 2022.
Hopes therefore remain low that Ukraine and Russia will make any progress towards stopping the fighting, despite US efforts to push the peace process forward.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has praised previous talks in Istanbul, but a Kremlin spokesman has moved to dampen expectations - Pavel Bednyakov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
'There is no reason to expect any breakthroughs in the category of miracles – it is hardly possible in the current situation,' said Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman.
'We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfil the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning.'
Mr Peskov also declined to give any indication of a possible timeline to reach an agreement to end the war.
Ukrainian and Western officials have accused the Kremlin of stalling the talks in order for its bigger army to capture more Ukrainian land. Russia currently holds about 20 per cent of Ukraine.
Russia's approach – setting low expectations – comes just one day after Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, renewed his offer to meet directly with Putin to negotiate a ceasefire, and expressed interest in speeding up the talks.
'Ukraine never wanted this war, and it is Russia that must end the war that it itself started,' Mr Zelensky posted online.
The talks will be the third direct round of such meetings. Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, will lead the delegation on behalf of Kyiv. Moscow has not yet announced who it will send.
'The agenda from our side is clear: The return of prisoners of war, the return of the children abducted by Russia, and the preparation of a leaders' meeting,' Mr Zelensky said, outlining priorities for the talks.
The earlier Istanbul talks in May and June led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war, and the remains of fallen soldiers – but no real breakthrough on a peace agreement in a war that has been grinding on for three and a half years.
Mr Zelensky has insisted that lower-level delegations will not be as effective as a face-to-face meeting between the two countries' leaders, but Putin has repeatedly rejected the idea – even as Donald Trump last week threatened to slap Russia with new sanctions if a peace deal is not agreed in 50 days, a period that will expire on Sept 2.
Demands from both sides remain far apart – particularly on the issue of returning occupied Ukrainian territory.
The Kremlin has made clear that it wants Ukraine to give up the regions that Moscow claims have been integrated into Russia.
Russia also wants promises that Ukraine will not be allowed to join Nato, to limit the size of the Ukrainian military, and to recognise Russian as an official language in Ukraine.
Ukrainian and Russian representatives first met in Istanbul in May, with proceedings overseen by Hakan Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister - Arda Kucukkaya/Turkish Foreign Ministry via Reuters
But such demands have already been rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.
The Trump administration has pushed for an unconditional ceasefire before more substantial talks on a final agreement.Ukraine has agreed to this, but Russia has refused unless certain conditions are met.
Russia and Ukraine are continuing to launch attacks at each other's cities as they prepare for the talks.
Russian forces attacked Ukrainian cities in three regions overnight on Monday, killing a child and injuring at least 40 others, officials said.
And in a statement on Russia's Telegram channel, it has said that its forces took control of the village of Novotoretske in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region.
Ukraine also launched an attack against Russia using long-range drones. The defence ministry in Moscow said that its air defences shot down 35 such drones overnight, including three over the capital.
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