Putin Ready for Peace Talks with Ukraine Based on Istanbul Agreements

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, stated that Moscow remains fully prepared to enter peace negotiations with Ukraine based on the Istanbul agreements. At the same time, he accused Kyiv of attempting to destabilize Russia by attacking civilian facilities on Russian soil. According to him, these attacks are carried out amid Ukraine’s territorial losses in eastern regions.

Putin said that energy and tourism infrastructure have been among the targets of recent attacks, and these actions, aside from causing economic damage, could also affect the psychological stability of society. He assigned the responsibility for countering these threats to the Ministry of Defense and other Russian security agencies and urged the government to adopt additional measures to mitigate potential damages. He also emphasized the preparation of support programs for the affected areas.

In another part of his remarks, the Russian president reiterated that the Istanbul agreements serve as an acceptable basis for continuing talks. These agreements refer to the spring 2022 negotiations in Istanbul, where delegations from both countries approached a preliminary framework for a ceasefire, but the dialogue process was not finalized. Putin expressed hope that the Ukrainian side would return to that framework with a “realistic” approach.

While fighting continues on various fronts, there has been no official or final response from the Ukrainian government to these statements yet. Meanwhile, reports have emerged of a shortage of interceptor missiles in Ukraine, and efforts by Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, to secure these weapons from the United States have so far not yielded a definitive outcome.