Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts before negotiations on the war in Ukraine began in Istanbul.

He reiterated his wish that both sides would quickly silence the guns. He says things are moving in a positive direction. However, expectations are not high.

More than a month after the start of the war, delegations from both sides met at the presidential Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul from 9:30 am, Erdogan’s office reported. Before that, Turkish mediators met separately with the two delegations.

On March 10, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia already met in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya, but that did not yield much concrete. Previously, there had already been three negotiating sessions in Belarus, and there were also video talks, which were also very difficult.

Ukraine wants Russian troops to withdraw and security guarantees from the Russians. Russia is demanding, among other things, that Kyiv renounce NATO membership and recognize the two states in the eastern Donbas regions as independent and recognize Crimea, annexed in 2014, as Russian.