Russia Pursues Long-Lasting Peace with Ukraine in Istanbul

By Vladimir Soldatkin

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation at peace talks on Ukraine in Turkey, said on Thursday that Moscow's aim was to secure a long-lasting peace with Kyiv by looking for common ground and removing the reasons for the conflict.

Medinsky, who helped lead 2022 talks which collapsed, said Russia considered the planned talks in Istanbul to be a continuation of those failed 2022 talks.

"We consider these negotiations as a continuation of the peace process in Istanbul, which, unfortunately, was interrupted by the Ukrainian side three years ago," Medinsky told reporters in Istanbul.

Kyiv says that the terms Russia was offering it in 2022 were unacceptable and would have amounted to a capitulation.

"The delegation is determined to be constructive, to search for possible solutions and common ground. The task of direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side is sooner or later to achieve long-term peace by eliminating the basic root causes of the conflict," said Medinsky.

Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia and Ukraine began talks in Belarus that later moved to Istanbul. A draft considered there which set out a framework for a possible settlement became known as the "Istanbul Communique".

The 2022 talks broke off in May, but Russian officials have long argued that a settlement can be reached along the lines of the Istanbul Communique. Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, has also referred to the 2022 draft as a possible guide to future peace.

Under the draft, a copy of which Reuters has reviewed, Ukraine was being asked to agree to permanent neutrality in return for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, and other nations including Belarus, Canada, Germany, Israel, Poland, and Turkey.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Andrew Osborn/Guy Faulconbridge)