Türkiye stands ready to welcome fresh Ukraine-Russia negotiations

Türkiye is prepared to host a new round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul if both sides confirm their willingness to return to the negotiating table, according to a diplomatic source who spoke to RIA Novosti.

The source added that the negotiations could be organised at short notice, Caliber.Az reports.

Following a visit to Kyiv on July 17, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara was ready to support initiatives aimed at facilitating peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Fidan also noted that he had discussed the current state of the Russia-Ukraine conflict with Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and other senior Ukrainian officials.

Türkiye hosted early Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul in late March 2022, following initial high-level contacts in Antalya, where the sides discussed a draft framework involving Ukrainian neutrality in exchange for international security guarantees; those talks ultimately collapsed amid disagreements and revelations of alleged war crimes. 

Türkiye later mediated the Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul in July 2022 with the United Nations, which temporarily eased global food supply pressures by allowing Ukrainian grain exports. 

In 2025, Istanbul again hosted multiple rounds of direct talks, which produced agreements on large-scale prisoner exchanges and body returns but little progress on a broader ceasefire or peace deal.

By Jeyhun Aghazada