ISTANBUL: The third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine opened on Wednesday evening in Istanbul, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urging both sides to end the “bloody war” as soon as possible.
“Our aim is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible … The ultimate goal is a ceasefire that will pave the way to peace,” Fidan said as he opened the negotiations.
Turkey, which has good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours, has provided drones for Ukraine and shied away from Western-led sanctions on Moscow.
Fidan thanked Russian and Ukrainian leaders Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky for demonstrating “the will to hold these talks”, as well US President Donald Trump for his calls for an end to the war.
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He said the first and second round of talks, which also took place in Istanbul, achieved “significant results”.
“We are pleased to see that the prisoner exchanges carried out to date have been appreciated by the international community in terms of their humanitarian outcomes,” he said.
“We also consider it an important development that the parties exchanged memoranda reflecting their perspectives on the ceasefire and peace during the second round of talks,” he added.
“Our hope for this third round of negotiations is that the parties will hold substantive and results-oriented consultations on the memorandums they have exchanged.”
Fidan also said if a ceasefire is agreed, Turkey has “the necessary infrastructure in place for a monitoring mechanism”.
“The Istanbul talks provide us with an opportunity to show the world that diplomacy and dialogue are more effective than conflict and weapons in securing peace.”
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