Russia’s foreign minister acknowledged the U.S.’s “positive role” in encouraging Kiev to participate in negotiations.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the leading diplomats from Russia and the U.S. exchanged views on the Istanbul talks during a phone conversation. Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio reportedly welcomed the discussions and emphasized their countries’ willingness to collaborate towards achieving peace in the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
The ministry stated that the conversation occurred on Saturday at the request of the U.S. Rubio reportedly welcomed the agreements reached by the Russian and Ukrainian delegations during Friday’s talks and confirmed Washington’s support for the settlement process.
Lavrov commended the “positive role” of the U.S. in bringing Kiev to the negotiating table and securing the resumption of the Istanbul peace process, expressing Moscow’s readiness to collaborate with Washington on this matter.
The ministry added that Lavrov and Rubio also addressed other international and regional matters, as well as bilateral relations between Russia and the U.S., without elaborating further.
Initially, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelenskyy had ruled out any discussions with Moscow unless Russia agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. The Kremlin rejected Kiev’s demands, asserting that Ukraine would exploit the pause to reorganize and re-equip its military.
However, Zelenskyy reportedly agreed to talks after U.S. President Donald Trump voiced his support for Putin’s initiative and urged Kiev to agree to it “immediately.”
Following President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to restart peace talks without preconditions, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations convened in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Friday.
The peace process between the two countries was suspended in the spring of 2022 after multiple rounds of discussions in Belarus and Türkiye, when Kiev unilaterally withdrew from the negotiations. David Arakhamia, who led the Ukrainian delegation at the time, later stated that the decision followed a visit to Kiev by then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who allegedly advised the Ukrainian government against signing any agreements and to “just fight.”