Russia is not interested in bona fide negotiations and compromises and will continue the war to achieve its goal - the capitulation of Ukraine. This is stated in the analytical report of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reports UNN.
Details
It is noted that the Russian delegation in Istanbul does not include officials from the inner circle of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin and is mostly the same delegation that Russia sent to the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul in 2022.
Putin announced on the evening of May 14 that his aide Vladimir Medinsky would lead the Russian delegation in Istanbul.
According to ISW analysts, Medinsky directly described the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul in May 2025 as a continuation of the Istanbul talks in early 2022, during which Russia made demands tantamount to Ukraine's complete capitulation.
Experts add that Russia demanded these terms in the first and second months of its full-scale invasion, when Russian troops advanced on Kyiv and made significant gains in northeastern, eastern and southern Ukraine.
Now Russia is trying to repeat these same demands after three years of war, despite the fact that Ukrainian troops have since successfully forced Russia to withdraw from northern Ukraine, liberated significant swathes of territory in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions, and slowed the pace of Russia's advance in the theatre of operations. Medinsky is deliberately trying to present the May 2025 talks as a continuation of the April 2022 Istanbul talks in order to portray Russia's demands for Ukraine's capitulation as legitimate, despite the fact that Ukraine is now in a much stronger position on the battlefield than it was in April 2022, and the Russian military is much weaker than it was in the early months of the full-scale invasion
ISW analysts noted that Medinsky's attempt to present the Istanbul talks in May 2025 as peace talks contradicts the stated efforts of Ukraine, the United States and Europe to establish a long-term ceasefire in Ukraine that would precede peace talks.
Medinsky's wording reflects Russia's rejection of this sequence of events, which Ukraine and the United States have steadily supported
Analysts also mentioned in the report a manual that Russian media received from the Kremlin regarding the coverage of the talks in Istanbul.
The statement by the presidential administration (of Russia - ed.) that the May 2025 talks are taking place on "worse terms" for Ukraine compared to 2022 is an attempt to present Russian military power and successes on the battlefield, while ignoring Ukraine's significant successes on the battlefield and its ability to slow Russia's advance over the past three years of the war. This statement also ignores Russia's significant losses among elite forces and its growing reliance on poorly trained recruits. The presidential administration's message on the wording of the negotiations demonstrates that Russia expects Ukraine to abandon the terms that the Russian delegation will present in Istanbul, as Ukraine will not accept terms tantamount to its capitulation
In conclusion, the Institute's analysts stressed that Russia's continued insistence on its 2022 Istanbul demands in May 2025 demonstrates that Russia continues to be interested only in Ukraine's complete capitulation, is unwilling to offer compromises in any bona fide negotiations, and is prepared to continue the war to achieve its goal.
Recall
On the night of May 11, Vladimir Putin said that Russia was ready to resume peace talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul.
Donald Trump said that Ukraine should agree to Russia's offer of talks in Turkey. He believes that this should be done immediately.
On Thursday, May 15, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to meet with Putin in Turkey to negotiate a ceasefire. If Putin refuses, Ukraine will insist on strengthening sanctions against the Russian Federation.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy formed a delegation of Ukraine to participate in the negotiation process with international partners and representatives of the Russian Federation on May 15-16, 2025 in Istanbul.
On May 16, delegations from Turkey, the United States, Russia and Ukraine will meet in Istanbul. The meeting will be attended by Hakan Fidan, the US delegation led by Rubio, the Ukrainian delegation led by Umerov, and the Russian delegation led by Medinsky.
The head of the Russian delegation and Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky said that representatives of Ukraine will be expected for talks at 10 a.m. on Friday in Istanbul.