Ukraine, Russia to Hold Face-to-Face Peace Talks in Turkey

By Staff, Agencies

The Ukrainian foreign minister has expressed optimism that the first face-to-face peace talks with Moscow this week could lead to a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending Russia’s protracted military campaign in the former Soviet state.

"The minimum program will be humanitarian questions, and the maximum program is reaching an agreement on a ceasefire," Dmytro Kuleba said on national television when asked about the scope of the latest round of peace negotiations that are due to take place in Turkey on Tuesday.

Kuleba’s comments were accompanied by TV footage showing a Ukrainian delegation that arrived in Istanbul for the negotiations with the Russian side.

Pointing to Tuesday’s peace talks, a senior US State Department official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Putin does not appear ready to make compromises to end the war.

Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said that he doubted "there will be any breakthrough on the main issues."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said talks so far had not yielded any substantial breakthroughs but it was important that they continued in person. Peskov declined to give more information, saying that to do so could interfere with the process.