NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul in attempt to end three-year war

AFP
2 Jun, 2025 03:14 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with the head of Ukraine's Security Service Vasyl Malyuk in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo / AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with the head of Ukraine's Security Service Vasyl Malyuk in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo / AFP

Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet in Istanbul on Monday to exchange plans for ending the three-year war, after Kyiv says it struck dozens of strategic bombers at airbases deep in Russia.

Urged on by US President Donald Trump, Moscow and Kyiv have opened direct negotiations for the first time since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion. However, they have yet to make significant progress towards the end of Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.

Monday’s talks come a day after Ukraine carried out one of its most brazen and successful attacks ever on Russian soil – hitting dozens of strategic bombers parked at airbases thousands of kilometres behind the front line.

At the first round of talks in Istanbul last month, they agreed a large-scale prisoner exchange and to swap notes on what their vision of a peace deal might look like.

The second set of negotiations is scheduled to get under way at 1pm (10pm GMT) at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, an Ottoman imperial house on the banks of the Bosphorus that is now a luxury five-star hotel.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Russia says it will present a “memorandum” of its peace terms, having resisted pressure by Ukraine to send its demands in advance.

Despite the flurry of diplomacy, the two sides remain far apart over a possible deal – either for a truce or longer-term settlement.

Outlining Kyiv’s position before the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refreshed his call for an immediate halt to the fighting.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a ceasefire, the release of prisoners and return of abducted children. Photo / Getty Images
President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a ceasefire, the release of prisoners and return of abducted children. Photo / Getty Images

“First – a full and unconditional ceasefire. Second – the release of prisoners. Third – the return of abducted children,” he said Sunday in a post on social media.

He also called for the sides to discuss a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The key issues can only be resolved by the leaders,” Zelenskyy said.

The Kremlin has repeatedly pushed back on that prospect, saying a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting could only happen after the negotiating delegations reach wider “agreements”.

Russia has questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy throughout the war and repeatedly called for him to be toppled.

Moscow says it wants to address the “root causes” of the conflict – language typically used to refer to a mix of sweeping demands including limiting Ukraine’s military, banning the country from joining Nato and massive territorial concessions.

Kyiv and the West have rejected those calls and cast Russia’s assault as nothing but an imperialist land grab.

Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia invaded, with swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed and millions forced to flee their homes.

War rages on

Russia’s top negotiator in Istanbul will be Vladimir Medinsky, an ideological Putin aide who led failed talks in 2022, has written school textbooks justifying the invasion and questioned Ukraine’s right to exist.

Ukraine’s team will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, seen as a skilled and pragmatic negotiator, but who has been mired in domestic scandal over alleged abuse of power and a lack of transparency.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Diplomatic advisors” from Germany, France and Britain will be “on the ground... in close co-ordination with the Ukrainian negotiating team,” a German government spokesperson said on Sunday.

Ukraine on Sunday said it had damaged some 40 strategic Russian bombers, worth $7 billion, in a major special operation after months of setbacks for Kyiv’s military.

Kyiv’s security service said the plan, 18 months in the making, had involved smuggling drones into Russia which were then launched from near the airbases, thousands of kilometres away from the front lines.

Ukrainian military drones, designed to destroy enemy bombers far from the front, in Russia. Photo / AFP
Ukrainian military drones, designed to destroy enemy bombers far from the front, in Russia. Photo / AFP

Russian troops have meanwhile been advancing on the ground, particularly in the northeastern Sumy region, where Putin ordered his forces to establish a “buffer zone” along the border.

Ballistic strikes in the northeastern Kharkiv region on Monday injured at least six people, including a 7-year-old, and damaged a civilian business and a warehouse, Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov said on Monday.

Before the talks, Russian officials have called for Ukraine to be cut off from Western military support and cede territory still controlled by its army.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ukraine has pushed Russia to agree to a full, unconditional and immediate ceasefire – saying a pause in the fighting is necessary to then discuss what a long-term settlement could look like.

Kyiv has refused to formally give up the one-fifth of its territory controlled by Russia, though it has accepted that it may only be able to get some land back through diplomacy, not fighting.

It also wants concrete Western-backed security guarantees – like Nato protections or Western troops on the ground – that have also been ruled out by Russia.

-Agence France-Presse

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Typhoon Wipha grounds flights, closes schools as Hong Kong braces

World

39 killed, over 100 injured near food centres in Gaza

World

Israeli attacks kill 26 near two aid centres, Gaza civil defence says


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Typhoon Wipha grounds flights, closes schools as Hong Kong braces
World

Typhoon Wipha grounds flights, closes schools as Hong Kong braces

Hong Kong issued a T8 warning as Typhoon Wipha approached.

20 Jul 02:25 AM
39 killed, over 100 injured near food centres in Gaza
World

39 killed, over 100 injured near food centres in Gaza

20 Jul 01:50 AM
Israeli attacks kill 26 near two aid centres, Gaza civil defence says
World

Israeli attacks kill 26 near two aid centres, Gaza civil defence says

20 Jul 12:42 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP