Istanbul talks: Russia’s impossible demands

Hello! This week we look in detail at what Russia put on the table at the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in more than three years. We also talk a bit about our dear colleague Irina Pankratova, The Bell’s investigative correspondent who recently passed away.

Russia comes to the negotiating table — with old, unattainable demands

Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks on ending the war since 2022. Russian propaganda was happy to present the negotiations as a triumph of Russian diplomacy, though it is unclear how much genuine diplomacy actually took place. Vladimir Putin did not travel, nor did any senior Russian foreign policy officials. And the delegation, headed by presidential aide and controversial historian Vladimir Medinsky, laid out impossible demands that it knew would be rejected.