{"id":137666,"date":"2025-05-16T15:59:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-russia-threatened-ukraine-with-eternal-war-source-tells-sky-news-in-peace-talks-which-lasted-just-two-hours-sky-news\/"},"modified":"2025-05-16T15:59:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:59:02","slug":"ukraine-war-latest-russia-threatened-ukraine-with-eternal-war-source-tells-sky-news-in-peace-talks-which-lasted-just-two-hours-sky-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-russia-threatened-ukraine-with-eternal-war-source-tells-sky-news-in-peace-talks-which-lasted-just-two-hours-sky-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war latest: Russia threatened Ukraine with 'eternal war', source tells Sky News – in peace talks which lasted just two hours – Sky News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have finished after less than two hours. Keir Starmer said Moscow’s approach is “unacceptable”, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Putin of being scared to meet him. Watch and follow the latest below.
Friday 16 May 2025 16:49, UK
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After Rustem Umerov spoke to reporters in Istanbul, Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi took over questions.
He reiterates that, during talks today, the Russian delegation “voiced a number of things which we deem unacceptable”.
“We have a long experience of all kinds of talks with the Russians. Believe me, since 2014, there were many rounds,” he says, referring to talks between Kyiv and Moscow following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
“So I would say that the Ukrainian delegation knows how to handle all the things that might be voiced from that side.”
Tykhyi says the Ukrainian delegation had a “clear agenda” to secure a ceasefire at talks.
“This is logical because if you want to have serious negotiations, you need to have guns silent,” he says. 
Emmanuel Macron has said Russia has shown it is “merely trying to buy time” by continuing the war with Ukraine.
The French president posted on X saying that by rejecting the ceasefire deal, Russia has shown it does not want peace.
He said as a result, the “coalition of the willing” – a group of 31 countries that have pledged to support Ukraine against Russia – will “define a united response”.
 We’re just hearing from the head of the Ukrainian delegation, defence minister Rustem Umerov.
He says the team’s “first priority was people” in Istanbul today, which is why the agreement was made to trade 1,000 prisoners of war each.
“The second objective was to discuss ceasefire,” he adds, saying the two teams “will be working on exchanging the details.”
Umerov says the next step would be for a meeting between Ukraine and Russia at the “leaders’ level”.
“We once again would like to reiterate that Ukraine wants peace. Ukraine is focused [on] people and we’re able and capable to continue fighting. 
“But at the end of the day, we need to finalise this war.”
Russia threatened Ukraine with “eternal war” during direct peace talks in Istanbul today, a source in the Kyiv delegation has told Sky News.
The source said the Russians were not ready to talk about the technical details of a ceasefire and were waiting for superiors to approve them.
We heard earlier from a Ukrainian source how Moscow made demands which were “unrealistic” and “far beyond anything ever discussed” during the talks in Istanbul (see 13.38 post).
Turkey’s foreign minister has confirmed that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a large-scale prisoner swap as a result of today’s peace talks.
Hakan Fidan posted on X to say the swap, which will involve 1,000 Ukrainians and 1,000 Russians, is a “confidence-building measure”.
He also said both sides said they would agree to share, in writing, the “conditions that would make it possible to reach a ceasefire”.
Fidan described the negotiations as an “important day for world peace”.
Russia and Ukraine are still “miles apart” on the fundamental issues of the war following their first direct talks in three years, Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett<\/a> says.
Discussions in Istanbul today lasted just two hours, with Ukraine’s delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov and Russia’s team led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Bennett says there was “clearly no love lost” between the two sides, as they sat on opposite sides of the table, “underlining the animosity”.
“But the fact that these talks have taken place is certainly significant,” says Bennett.
“It’s the first time they’ve met face to face, sat down in the same room, in more than three years. So that is a step in the right direction towards a peace deal.
“<\/b>But this is a baby step. It’s more of a shuffle, not one giant leap along that path to peace. Because the only substantive thing to come from this meeting in Istanbul is this prisoner swap. 
“That is a confidence-building measure. I think that’s how Ukraine would put it. But it’s nothing like what Ukraine wanted from this, which was a 30-day ceasefire.”
Reminder of talks outcome<\/b>
As a reminder, the Russian delegation, led by presidential aide Medinsky, reported the following results of today’s talks:
The Ukrainian team, led by Umerov, reported similar results, saying the date for the prisoner swap has been set but not made public.
Europe will ‘accuse Russia of stalling’<\/b>
Bennett says there is still a “gaping chasm” between Russia and Ukraine on the fundamentals of territory, security guarantees, and a 30-day ceasefire.
“Okay, they have agreed to put forward their vision for a ceasefire,” Bennett says.” But I’m sure Ukraine and its European allies would argue – why on earth do you actually need a meeting to agree to put forward that vision? 
“I think they would once again accuse Russia of stalling here with yet more delay tactics.”
Both Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sir Keir Starmer have confirmed that they have spoken to Donald Trump.
But instead of addressing today’s peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, the US leader has taken to his Truth Social platform to take aim at some of America’s biggest singers.
In one post, he targets Taylor Swift, claiming the star is no longer “hot” because he said he hated her.
In a second post, shortly afterwards, he refers to Bruce Springsteen as “highly overrated”, adding that he should “keep his mouth shut”.
The attack was in reaction to the Dancing In The Dark singer accusing Trump of being “unfit” for office during the opening night of his UK tour.
Springsteen, who has long supported Democratic candidates, said: “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”
The Russian delegation plans to leave Istanbul for Moscow today, a source told Russian news agency TASS.
It comes after the Russian side said it was satisfied with the results from its meeting with Ukrainian representatives.
The direct peace talks today, aimed at putting an end to the three-year war in Ukraine, were the first since 2022.
 Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he has spoken to Donald Trump, alongside European leaders, after the conclusion of peace talks in Turkey.
He said Ukraine is “ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace, and it is important that the world holds a strong stance”.
The Ukrainian president added that his country’s “stance” is that “tough” sanctions must follow if Russia rejects a “full and conditional ceasefire”. 
We are yet to hear more from Trump on the negotiations, which have been described as “non-starters” by a Ukrainian source.
Russia’s delegation, however, said it was “satisfied” with the results (see our previous post).
Trump said earlier today that he will meet with Vladimir Putin “as soon as we can set it up”. 
“We’re going to get it done, we’ve got to get it done,” he told reporters on the last leg of a three-nation tour of the Middle East.
Russia’s delegation to Istanbul says it is satisfied with the results of talks with Ukraine today and that negotiations will continue.
Representatives of Russia and Ukraine met in the Turkish city for the first time in three years earlier as they sought to advance a peace deal. 
The Russian side also said Ukraine’s team had asked for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 
The head of Russia’s delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, announced a large-scale prisoner exchange of 1,000 for 1,000 with Ukraine.
Moscow and Kyiv also agreed to present their vision of a ceasefire, Medinsky reported, after which talks will continue.
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