ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE - MAY 16, 2025: As part of critical Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, trilateral meetings of Türkiye, the US, and Ukraine as well as Türkiye, Russia, and Ukraine will be held on Friday, May 16. The Türkiye-US-Ukraine trilateral meeting will be held at 10.45 am (0745GMT) at the Presidential Dolmabahce Office, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry sources. The trilateral Türkiye-Russia-Ukraine meeting will be held at the same venue at 12.30 pm (0930GMT). Taking part in the meetings will be Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, a US delegation headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Ukrainian delegation headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and a Russian delegation headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an advisor to President Vladimir Putin. Scheduled to meet with Turkish, Russian and US officials, the Ukrainian delegation is headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and include Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, Security Service deputy head Oleksandr Poklad, and Foreign Intelligence Service deputy head Oleh Luhovskyi, among others. The Russian delegation, headed by Vladimir Medinsky, includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) Director Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin. - Russia-Ukraine war and negotiations The war, which began with Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, has led to the partial annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions. With Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine lost control of about one-fifth of its territory. The US and European countries have provided significant military and economic support to Ukraine while imposing severe sanctions on Russia for its annexations. After initial meetings in Belarus, the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine met on March 10, 2022, at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. Türkiye brought the parties together again on March 29, 2022, in Istanbul. The consensus reached during the Istanbul negotiations fell apart amid accusations of civilian killings in the city of Bucha and claims that the UK and the US opposed the agreement. Despite the intensification of the war, Türkiye continued its efforts for peace and, with the support of the UN, brought the parties together again in the same year, resulting in the internationally acclaimed Black Sea Grain Initiative Agreement. Erdogan, one of the few leaders able to talk to both sides, has continued to offer to host and mediate peace talks. With Donald Trump’s election as the US president, diplomatic activity has regained momentum. On May 11, Russian President Putin proposed resuming the direct negotiations that were cut off three years ago, this time without preconditions, and requested that Türkiye host the talks in Istanbul on May 15. Ukraine responded positively to the proposal, and the international community welcomed the Istanbul peace talks agenda.