What do the ongoing negotiations in Istanbul mean for Ukraine?

What does the continuation of negotiations in Istanbul mean for Kyiv? BBC correspondent Svyatoslav Khomenko comments.

Vladimir Putin's proposal to "resume direct negotiations that were suspended in 2022 without initial conditions" seems unacceptable for Kyiv – the very demand to "return to negotiations without conditions" implies a condition.

The negotiations conducted in the initial weeks following the Russian invasion of Ukraine were nothing more than discussions of the conditions for Kyiv's surrender proposed by Russia.

Ultimately, the clauses of the documents that led to the discussions referred to limiting the number and nomenclature of weapons of the Ukrainian army or Kyiv voluntarily renouncing any military cooperation with the West. These clauses also corresponded to other demands from Moscow that matched Putin's phrase about "eliminating the causes of the conflict" – which at that time, especially now, were considered and are considered completely unacceptable in Kyiv.

By the way, despite Putin's repeated statements that the Ukrainian side disrupted the negotiations, Kyiv claims that the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, did not approve any documents in 2022 – also because he did not have the relevant authority.

In any case, the demand from Kyiv to return to the Istanbul negotiations "without preconditions" is essentially a call to discuss how exactly Ukraine's hands are tied so that it cannot defend itself from Russia's new aggression.

Another important fact: Putin is demanding that Kyiv return to the negotiating table without stopping military actions. This logic is completely contrary to what Volodymyr Zelensky has been repeating since the first week: he states that he will only be ready to conduct direct negotiations when the sound of cannon fire has ceased, which would prove that Russia is serious about ending the war. In short, the differences in positions between Moscow and Kyiv are very significant and principled.

However, it is difficult to say whether the third major character in this saga – Donald Trump – understands the details or not. After all, this event can be told in two different ways.

On one hand, Putin rejected the West and Ukraine's thirty-day peace proposal. According to this logic, all his subsequent words are pure fiction, meaning he should be punished with the promised heavy sanctions.

On the other hand, Putin is no longer talking about Zelensky's "illegitimacy" and is ready for direct negotiations with Ukraine. If the situation is viewed this way, Kyiv's refusal to accept Putin's proposal would appear to sabotage the peace process, for which Trump could punish Zelensky.

The development of this plot in the form of reactions from Washington, European capitals, and Kyiv will occur in the coming hours. For now, however, monitoring telegram channels reported that the first "martyrs" have entered Ukraine's airspace in the last few days.