EURONEWS - Russia-Ukraine peace talks end after less than 2 hours with deal to swap POWs - Russian and Ukrainian delegations attend talks at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. By David O'Sullivan Published on 16/05/2025 - 18:58 GMT+2•Updated 19:18

 EURONEWS

Russia-Ukraine peace talks end after less than 2 hours with deal to swap POWs

Russian and Ukrainian delegations attend talks at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025.

Copyright Ramil Sitdikov/Sputnik

By David O'Sullivan

Published on 16/05/2025 - 18:58 GMT+2•Updated 19:18

The two sides sat opposite each other at a U-shaped table in the Turkey's Dolmabahce Palace but remained far apart in their conditions for ending the war.

The first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 ended after less than two hours on Friday. 

No agreement was reached concerning a full 30-day ceasefire and Moscow reportedly demanded Kyiv withdraw from four regions it invaded. Ukrainian media reported these four regions were Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - none of which Russia fully controls.

According to both delegations, the two sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each - the largest such swap since the war began. 

Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan said both sides have agreed “in principle” to meet again. 

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Chief Ukrainian delegate Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said both sides also discussed a meeting between their heads of state. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow’s delegation, said both sides agreed to provide detailed ceasefire proposals. 

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said he discussed the talks with allies from the US, France, Germany, the UK and Poland. In a post on X, he urged “tough sanctions” against Moscow if it rejects “a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to the killings.”  

Zelenskyy was in Albania with the leaders of dozens of European countries to discuss security, defence and democratic standards amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

US President Donald Trump, who has pressed both Moscow and Kyiv for an end to the conflict, said a meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”  

“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi, concluding a trip to the Middle East. 

Additional sources • AP