Lavrov: open to talks, 'no rush'
- Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow looks "positively" on possibly resuming peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. - At the same time he said Russia is "in no rush" to resume negotiations and that continuing talks are "not our top priority." - The mixed messaging reads as an attempt to appear open while avoiding diplomatic urgency, preserving Russian optionality on any negotiation (en.yenisafak.com) (heemaalnews.com).
Sergey Lavrov said on April 18 that Russia would consider new Ukraine talks in Istanbul, but said restarting negotiations is “not our top priority.” (mid.ru) Lavrov made the remarks at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, where he said Moscow viewed a return to Istanbul “positively” if another side put forward a proposal on timing, venue and agenda. (aa.com.tr) In the same appearance, he said Russia was “in no rush” and that talks with Ukraine had slipped behind other priorities as United States-backed diplomacy stalled. (yahoo.com) Istanbul matters because it was the site of the first major Russia-Ukraine negotiations after the 2022 invasion and again hosted direct rounds in 2025. Those 2025 meetings on May 16, June 2 and July 23 produced prisoner exchanges and draft memorandums, but not a ceasefire. (trtworld.com) Turkey has kept offering itself as a mediator, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Lavrov on April 18 on the sidelines of the same forum in Antalya. Ankara has tried to preserve a channel with both Moscow and Kyiv since the war began. (aa.com.tr) Lavrov’s comments also came after three rounds of United States-mediated talks earlier this year: Jan. 23-24 and Feb. 4-5 in Abu Dhabi, then Feb. 17-18 in Geneva. Those meetings yielded no agreement on the core issues dividing the sides. (trtworld.com) (cbsnews.com) The gap remains wide. Ukraine has continued to press for terms that protect its sovereignty and territory, while Russia has pointed back to earlier frameworks that were drafted when its forces were in a stronger battlefield position in 2022. (understandingwar.org) For now, Lavrov’s message left Turkey on the table and urgency off it: Moscow says it is available for talks, but not actively chasing them. (hurriyetdailynews.com)
