Ukraine closed out its third round of direct talks with Russia on Wednesday with a proposal to hold a “leaders’ summit” by the end of August with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Trump.
The proposed summit would be held between Zelensky and Putin, and it would include the “participation” of the U.S. and Turkish presidents, according to a statement from Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky’s office.
Zelensky on Tuesday had again renewed his offer to meet with Putin to negotiate an end to the war, but Putin has rejected previous offers.
Ukraine made the proposal in Turkey during the latest round of talks, which yielded few results and left delegations from both countries feeling far away from a deal on a cease-fire or end to the war.
“It is clear that Russia is still not ready to end the war — but there is still time to reconsider and put an end to this madness,” Yermak said in the statement.
He said progress was made on humanitarian issues, including on prisoner exchanges and retrieving Ukrainian children who were kidnapped during the war.
Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, told reporters after the talks that “we have not made progress yet” on a cease-fire, according to multiple media outlets.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, made similar remarks after the meeting.
“The positions are quite apart from each other,” he said, the news outlets reported.
The nations have held two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul so far — on May 16 and June 2 — and the discussions have led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners, but the two have made little to no progress on a potential cease-fire agreement.
Since the last round of talks, which took place nearly two months ago, Russia issued a memo outlining conditions for reaching a ceasefire, including having Ukraine’s military disarm and agree to Russia’s annexation of four regions in Ukraine that were overtaken since Moscow launched its invasion over three years ago, which the Russian military has struggled to maintain.
Yermak said in his statement Wednesday that Ukraine, in the latest talks, “clearly outlined its priorities: a ceasefire, real silence along the entire frontline, and a complete halt to strikes on civilian infrastructure. This is where the path to a genuine peace must begin.”
Trump has pressed for forging peace in the region and has in recent weeks been increasingly critical of Putin, saying in a recent interview with the BBC that he is “disappointed” with the Kremlin’s leader, but he’s not “done with him.”
Trump announced last week that the U.S. brokered a deal to send more weapons to Ukraine, arms that would be drawn from NATO allies in Europe who agreed earlier this year to increase their investment in defense spending.
Trump also warned Putin that he would slap new sanctions on Russia and other countries that purchase Moscow’s exports if a cease-fire is not reached within 50 days. Russia has not wavered from its demands and has continued to shell Ukraine, firing off drones and missile attacks that have targeted dozens of cities.
