Ukraine peace talks: What are Kyiv’s and Moscow’s positions?

ISTANBUL – Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow will on June 2 hold a second round of direct talks on the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine, which was triggered by Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

The two sides are set to present their visions of what a peace settlement could look like at the negotiations, which will be presided over by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Despite the flurry of diplomacy urged on by US President Donald Trump, their demands have thus far been irreconcilable.

Territories for Russia

Russia has repeatedly demanded to retain the territories in southern and eastern Ukraine that it occupies and for Kyiv to cede even more land.

Moscow in 2022 annexed four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – despite not having full control over them. It also annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded Ukraine pull its forces out of parts of those regions that its army still controls as a prerequisite to any peace settlement.

At the first round of talks in May, Ukraine accused Moscow of repeating those demands and threatening to accelerate a ground offensive into the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, over which Russia has made no formal claim.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that recognition of Moscow’s ownership of the territories was “imperative” for any negotiations.

Ukraine has said it will never recognise its occupied territories, including Crimea, as Russian.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv may be forced to try to secure their return through diplomatic means – effectively conceding that Russia could maintain control over some land in any peace deal.

Russian demands on Nato

Russia has also demanded that Ukraine be barred from joining the Nato military alliance and has repeatedly said it wants Mr Zelensky removed from office.

Russia had intended to topple Mr Zelensky when it launched its invasion, with Mr Putin calling in a televised address for Ukraine’s generals to oust him in a coup d’etat and then open talks with Moscow.

Mr Putin in March floated the idea of Ukraine being put under a UN-backed “temporary administration”, refreshing his call to essentially remove the Ukrainian leader.

Russian officials have throughout the war called for the “demilitarisation” and “de-Nazification” of Ukraine – casting Kyiv as a neo-Nazi “regime”.

Kyiv and the West have rejected those narratives.

Russia has also sought at times to limit the size of Kyiv’s army, for Ukraine to be declared a neutral state and for Western countries to stop supplying it with weapons.

Security guarantees for Ukraine

Mr Zelensky has, for months, been calling for “security guarantees” for Ukraine to stop Russia invading again.

His top demand will be for Ukraine to be admitted to Nato or for it to fall under the military alliance’s Article Five collective defence term.

Mr Trump has, however, dismissed the possibility of Ukraine joining the bloc, and Russia says Nato membership will be “unacceptable”.

Instead, Kyiv is pushing for some other form of Western military commitment that will deter Moscow.

Britain and France are leading discussions about a possible European troop deployment to enforce any ceasefire, among a group of countries dubbed the “coalition of the willing”.

But Kyiv still wants Washington to back up any “security guarantee”.

Moscow has said it will not accept troops from Nato countries being deployed to Ukraine in any capacity.

Ceasefire

Mr Zelensky wants an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to cover combat across land, sea and air. Kyiv says meaningful discussions for a long-term peace deal can happen only once fighting has paused.

“First – a full and unconditional ceasefire. Second – the release of prisoners. Third – the return of abducted children,” Mr Zelensky said on social media on June 1, outlining Kyiv’s priorities for the following day’s talks.

Mr Putin has rejected Ukrainian and Western calls for an immediate ceasefire.

The Kremlin says it does not rule out agreeing to some kind of ceasefire at Istanbul, but that talks should address the “root causes” and look to strike a “long-term settlement”.

For Mr Putin, the “root causes” of the conflict are not only grievances with Kyiv but also the West and Nato over what Russia sees as expansion into former Soviet or communist countries.

Moscow has demanded strict limits on Ukrainian military activity, such as a ban on mobilisation and halt to the flow of Western weapons, should any truce be agreed. AFP