First Moscow-Kyiv talks in more than three years end within hours

The first direct talks on halting Russia 's war on Ukraine in more than three years appeared to collapse in a matter of hours after Moscow 's delegation reportedly demanded that Kyiv give up more land to guarantee a ceasefire. A Ukrainian diplomatic source told AFP this afternoon that the talks, which began around 10:30am BST, had already concluded due to Russia's negotiators 'making unacceptable demands'.

The disheartening revelation comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin declined a challenge by his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to meet face to face in Turkey for talks. Moscow instead elected to send a junior delegation to Istanbul for the negotiations aimed at ending the worst conflict in Europe since World War II . Kyiv is seeking an 'unconditional ceasefire' in the fighting that has killed tens of thousands, destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

Moscow says it wants to address the 'root causes' of the conflict and revive failed 2022 negotiations in which it made sweeping territorial and political demands of Ukraine. While the delegations shared seemingly brief and unproductive talks, Zelensky travelled to Tirana, Albania, to meet a host of allies at a European Political Community (EPC) summit. He was seen embracing Albania's towering Prime Minister Edi Rama before speaking with the likes of British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Starmer and European leaders at the summit will talk about how to ramp up pressure on Russia as Prime Minister Starmer said Putin must 'pay the price for avoiding peace' in Ukraine. Putin's tactics to 'dither and delay' are 'intolerable', said the Prime Minister as he joined more than 40 leaders and top officials in Tirana. Russia and Ukraine spent the 24 hours before today's talks began slinging insults at each other.

Nevertheless, the fact the meeting was taking place at all was a sign of movement, with both sides having come under steady pressure from Washington to forge a path out of conflict. Turkey's Foreign Minister and Hakan Fidan called for a ceasefire as he opened the meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations around 1:35pm (1035 GMT) this afternoon in Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace. 'While the war continues to take lives, it is of critical importance that the ceasefire be implemented as soon as possible,' Fidan said. Putin declined to travel to Turkey for the talks, which he had proposed, sending a second-level delegation instead.

Zelensky criticised Russia for not taking the talks 'seriously' by dispatching people who he said had no power to make decisions. Both Moscow and Washington have also talked up the need for a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump on the conflict. 'Contacts between presidents Putin and Trump are extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian settlement,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday, adding that 'a meeting is undoubtedly necessary.' Trump had said Thursday that nothing would be settled until the two leaders met.

'Ukraine is ready for peace and a long-term and unconditional ceasefire,' Zelensky's top aide Andriy Yermak said Friday. 'The Ukrainian delegation is in Istanbul today to achieve an unconditional ceasefire - this is our priority,' he added. Ahead of the talks with Russia, Ukrainian officials held meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's special envoy Keith Kellogg and the national security advisors of Britain, France and Germany. Rubio 'discussed the importance of seeking a peaceful end to the Russia-Ukraine war', and reiterated 'the US position that the killing needs to stop', State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

A Ukrainian diplomatic source in Istanbul told AFP the delegation also wanted to discuss a possible Putin-Zelensky meeting. Another source accused Moscow of blocking US participation in the peace talks - the first since early 2022. Western leaders have criticised Putin for skipping the talks and sending his aide - a former cultural minister who is not seen as a key Kremlin decision-maker - Vladimir Medinsky. Rubio acknowledged that the Russian representation was 'not at the levels we had hoped it would be at' and downplayed expectations for a breakthrough. Russia's Medinsky led the failed 2022 talks with Ukraine at the start of the war.

He said Thursday that Moscow sees the talks as a 'continuation' of talks that failed in 2022 - a sign that Moscow's hardline demands have not changed. But Medinsky pushed back against Zelensky's criticism and insisted that the Russian delegation has a mandate from Putin to 'find possible solutions and points of contact.' Russia has repeatedly said it will not discuss giving up any territory that its forces occupy. Kyiv's chief negotiator is Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who has roots in Crimea, the peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014. Kyiv and Moscow last held direct diplomatic talks in March 2022, in the first weeks of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

They collapsed and fighting has raged since, with Moscow now occupying around a fifth of Ukraine. Russia continued its attacks in the hours ahead of the talks, with Kyiv saying at least two people were killed. European leaders slammed Putin for skipping the negotiations in Istanbul. EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas charged Friday that Russia was 'clearly' not working for peace with Ukraine. NATO chief Mark Rutte said Putin had made a 'big mistake' by sending a lower-rank Russian delegation to Istanbul.

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.