War negotiations in Istanbul: Does peace have a chance?

War negotiations in Istanbul: Does peace have a chance?

Istanbul, Türkei - On June 2, 2025, a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul. These conversations have marked the first direct discussion between the two countries in over three years, but the progress in the direction of a ceasefire has so far been extremely poor. Diplomats in Turkey hope that an end to the Ukraine war could be within reach. The Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerow arrived in Istanbul on the same day to begin the negotiations that are expected to begin at 1:00 p.m. href = "https://www.op-online.de/politik/end-vom-ukraine-krie-krie-stärtungen-starten-va--waffen-zr-93764257.html"> op-online.de reported.

connected to the conversations are still military tensions. Before the negotiations, both sides carried out attacks, with the Ukrainian secret service SBU reported that Russia lost 34% of its strategic bomber fleet. This was done as part of a comprehensive blow to Russian military airfields. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, there were nevertheless terrain in Ukraine, which is seen as a sign of a poor will to peace from the Ukrainian side.

The negotiation positions

There are significant differences in the negotiation positions. Russia insists on its maximum catalog of demands, which includes a waiver of Ukraine, a broad disarmament of the Ukrainian armed forces and the recognition of the Russian annexation of areas such as the Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Saporischschja and Cherson. In the meantime, the Ukraine is aiming to regain the areas conquered by Russia and to completely restore their territorial integrity, as well as Tagesschau.de

The USA and Europe support the Ukrainian position and demand a waiver of territorial claims. The US commitment is expected to put pressure on Russia under the new administration, while Washington expects concessions from Ukraine in order to avoid possible losses of territory. A special summit of the EU was already planned for March 6th to clarify open questions to support Ukraine.

military operations and their goals

In the context of ongoing military operations, some surprising aspects of the Ukrainian offensive with regard to the Russian troops in Kursk were discussed in the "Maybrit Illner" politics talk. Security expert Frank Sauer and military expert Nico Lange explained that this attack on Kursk has two main goals: on the one hand to force the Russian troops to be deducted from the Donbass, which has not been successful so far, and on the other hand the creation of a buffer zone to protect Ukrainian towns from artillery shot. The latter was considered successfully, which shows that Ukraine is able to surprise Russian troops and to struggle in the fight, as on zdf.de

Military progress on the battlefield seems to offer more advantages for both parties to the conflict than the possibility of negotiation. Sauer warns that Ukraine's offensive could be regarded as a politically motivated act of desperation and sees the conditions for negotiations to be created as on the battlefield. Peace can mean more than just the absence of war; This remains a central challenge in the current conflict, which has lasted since February 2022.