Ukrainian and Russian delegations convened in Istanbul on Monday for a second round of direct peace negotiations, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed, as efforts to de-escalate the ongoing war continue through diplomatic channels.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi confirmed that the Ukrainian team had arrived in Istanbul earlier in the day. “The Ukrainian delegation has arrived in Istanbul. The meeting is scheduled for this afternoon,” he said.

The talks are being held at the historic Çırağan Palace and were set to begin at 1 p.m. local time (10:00 GMT), according to sources from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

This latest round follows a May 16 session, also hosted in Istanbul, during which the two sides reached an agreement on a major prisoner exchange, involving the release of 1,000 detainees from each side — one of the largest such exchanges since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Ukraine’s delegation is once again being led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who also headed the team during the previous round of negotiations. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally approved the composition of the delegation on Sunday.

Türkiye continues to play a key mediating role between the two warring countries, leveraging its relationships with both Kyiv and Moscow to facilitate dialogue.

While expectations remain cautious, Monday’s talks are seen as a critical opportunity to build on recent agreements and potentially open the door to further confidence-building measures amid ongoing hostilities on multiple fronts. (ILKHA)