Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a late-night meeting with top military, intelligence, and diplomatic officials just before dispatching a delegation to Istanbul for renewed peace talks with Ukraine, the Kremlin confirmed on Thursday.
“Before the departure of our delegation to Istanbul yesterday evening, President Putin held a meeting on preparations for the upcoming negotiations with the Ukrainian side,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a press briefing in Moscow.
The Wednesday evening meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, Russian Guard head Viktor Zolotov, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoygu, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, and Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov. Members of the Russian negotiating team also took part in the discussion.
On the same day, Putin signed an official order confirming the makeup of Russia’s delegation for the direct negotiations in Istanbul. According to the Kremlin’s website, the team will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. Other members include Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin. A number of experts are also included in the delegation.
These talks mark the latest diplomatic engagement since the failed peace negotiations in Istanbul in March 2022. At that time, a draft agreement had reportedly been reached, but was ultimately abandoned. According to David Arakhamia, who led the Ukrainian delegation, Kyiv withdrew from the process on the advice of then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Whether this new round of talks will yield results remains uncertain. However, the presence of high-ranking Russian officials both at the strategy meeting and within the negotiating team suggests that Moscow is positioning this round of discussions as a serious diplomatic step.
