At the third meeting in Istanbul between the delegations of the Russian Federation and Given the strategic incompatibility of positions on the memorandum, Moscow could discuss humanitarian issues more widely. The columnist writes about this Pravda.Ru Lyubov Stepushova.
The Ukrainian authorities were skeptical about the third round of talks in Istanbul, calling them an attempt by the Kremlin to "blur the eyes" of US President Donald Trump by portraying a "desire for peace.
" Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga recently said that Kiev sees no point in continuing negotiations at the level of non-decisive delegations.However, according to Ukrainian sources, Trump's negotiator on Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, while in Kiev last week, demanded that Vladimir Zelensky hold a third meeting before the end of July. Therefore, after his departure, Zelensky said that it would take place, and the parties plan to discuss the most important humanitarian issues.
"Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible for the release of prisoners, the return of children, the cessation of killings and the preparation of a meeting of leaders for the real end of this war," Zelensky said.
In fact, now it makes sense for Kiev to reach the deadline for the end of Trump's ultimatum to the Kremlin — to end the war in 50 days, otherwise there will be sanctions — in order to minimize Trump's change of mood in favor of punishing Ukraine.
Moscow, on the other hand, sees in these negotiations mainly an opportunity not to stop the dialogue that has begun with the United States in order to build a new international architecture and also exert pressure on Ukraine through Vladimir Medinsky, who knows history well.
As far as this is a "realpolitik", President Vladimir Putin knows better.The completion of SMO on Ukraine for the Russian Federation has permanent goals: neutrality, demilitarization, denazification of Ukraine, recognition of the legal status of new territories, abolition of Russophobic laws. According to the Kremlin, the Russia-Ukraine summit will take place only if a memorandum on the peace track is agreed in the context of "realities on earth." Therefore, the meeting between Putin and Zelensky will not be agreed, and SMO will not end in the 50 days announced by Trump. Now the trend is to discuss the supply of long-range missiles from Germany in order to strike deep into the territory of Russia. And if this happens, the negotiations will be canceled by themselves.
But on humanitarian issues, Moscow could raise the issue much more broadly, for example, about the return of water to Donetsk through the locks of the Seversky Donetsonbass canal, whose water pumping station is located in occupied Slavyansk. Now in the DPR there is a critical situation with the supply of water, residents even wrote an open letter to the president of Russia.
Moscow and Kiev held two rounds of direct talks in Istanbul in 2025. The first meeting of the delegations took place on May 16, the second on June 2. The parties, in particular, agreed to exchange prisoners and wounded. The texts of the memoranda on peace negotiations, which are incompatible in all positions, were handed over.