Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv mentioned the potential for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin throughout their talks in Istanbul this week, Mr. Zelenskyy stated in feedback launched on Friday (July 25, 2025).
Ukraine has been pushing for a meeting between the 2 leaders and has expressed hope that U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for the opponents to strike a deal, might additionally participate.
Mr. Putin has stated he’s prepared to meet Mr. Zelenskyy however solely throughout a “final phase” of negotiations on ending the three-year warfare.
“We need an end to the war, which probably begins with a meeting of leaders,” Mr. Zelenskyy instructed reporters together with AFP. “In talks with us, they have begun to discuss it. This is already progress toward some kind of meeting format,” he added.
At a contemporary spherical of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday (July 23, 2025), Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov proposed to maintain the talks earlier than the tip of August.
The timing would roughly align with a deadline set by Mr. Trump, who earlier this month gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or face sweeping sanctions.
Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, nevertheless, downplayed the chance of an imminent meeting. “The meeting must be properly prepared. Only then will it make sense,” Mr. Medinsky was quoted as saying by Russian state information company TASS.
Deals on Patriots, drones
Talks on ending the battle have to date yielded few outcomes as the 2 sides have radically totally different positions, whereas Ukraine has accused Russia of sending low-level officers with no actual decision-making energy.
Russia has known as on Ukraine to successfully retreat from the 4 Ukrainian areas Moscow claims to have annexed in September 2022, a requirement Kyiv has known as unacceptable.
Ukraine has dominated out any negotiations on territory till after a ceasefire and says it would by no means recognise Russia’s claims over occupied territory – together with Crimea, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014.
Mr. Zelenskyy stated Russia was nonetheless trying to advance on a number of elements of the entrance, with none main breakthroughs.
Ukraine has been pleading with its Western backers to ship weapons for its troops and to face up to every day Russian assaults on Ukrainian cities.
As a part of a deal that permits European states to purchase U.S. weaponry and provides it to Kyiv, Mr. Zelenskyy stated his nation was working to safe funding for 10 Patriot air defence programs.
“The President of the United States will be transferring, selling these systems to us. Our task is to find funding for all 10 systems,” Mr. Zelenskyy stated.
He added that Ukraine had already secured funds for 3 programs – two from Germany and one from Norway.
Mr. Zelenskyy additionally stated that Washington and Kyiv had agreed on a deal price between $10-30 billion {dollars} for Ukraine to present drones to the United States.
This would characterize a departure from Ukraine’s unofficial stance in opposition to weapons exports.
“With America and President Trump, we agreed that they will purchase drones from us. This agreement is in place,” Mr. Zelenskyy stated.
‘Listened’ to protesters
Mr. Zelenskyy stated he was “focused on the issue of the war because right now, the number one issue in Ukraine is the war.”
But he has been going through protests, spurred by the adoption of a legislation revoking the independence of two anti-corruption companies.
The adoption of the legislation triggered the largest public protests in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion and drew criticism from Kyiv’s European allies.
“It is absolutely normal to react when people don’t want something or when they dislike something,” Mr. Zelenskyy stated.
“For me, it was very important that we listened and responded adequately,” Mr. Mr. Zelenskyy added.
The authorities has since submitted a invoice geared toward restoring the independence of the anti-graft our bodies – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
It stays to be seen whether or not parliament, largely loyal to Mr. Zelenskyy, will approve the draft legislation.
The controversial legislation drew criticism from Kyiv’s European allies, who fear the transfer might undermine anti-corruption reforms key to Ukraine’s bid to be a part of the European Union.
“We want to be part of Europe. No one is willing to take any risks,” Mr. Zelenskyy stated.
