Urged on by US President Donald Trump, Moscow and Kyiv have opened direct negotiations for the first time since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion, but have yet to make significant progress towards an elusive agreement.
At the first round of talks in Istanbul last month, the two sides agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange and to swap notes on what their vision of a peace deal might look like.
Russia’s negotiators arrived late Sunday, with Ukraine’s team touching down on Monday morning.
Despite the flurry of diplomacy, the two sides remain far apart over a possible deal -- either for a truce or a longer-term settlement.
“First -- a full and unconditional ceasefire. Second -- the release of prisoners. Third -- the return of abducted children,“ he said Sunday in a post on social media.
He also called for the sides to discuss a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has repeatedly pushed back on that prospect, saying a Putin-Zelensky meeting could only happen after the negotiating delegations reach wider “agreements”.
Moscow says it wants to address the “root causes” of the conflict -- language typically used to refer to a mix of sweeping demands including limiting Ukraine’s military, banning the country from joining NATO and massive territorial concessions.
Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia invaded, with swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed and millions forced to flee their homes, in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II.
Ukraine’s team will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, seen as a skilled and pragmatic negotiator, but who has been mired in domestic scandal over alleged abuse of power and a lack of transparency.
Immediate ceasefire
Kyiv’s security service said the plan, 18 months in the making, had involved smuggling drones into Russia which were then launched from near the airbases, thousands of kilometres away from the front lines.
Ahead of the talks, Russian officials have called for Ukraine to be cut off from Western military support and cede territory still controlled by its army.
Kyiv has conceded it may only be able to get territory taken by Russia through diplomacy, not fighting.
It also wants concrete Western-backed security guarantees -- like NATO protections or troops on the ground -- that have also been ruled out by Russia.
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