Russia-Ukraine peace talks end, no ceasefire achieved

A second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended barely an hour after they began in Istanbul on Monday, Turkish officials said, a day after a massive Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's nuclear-capable strategic bombers.The talks - the second such direct contact between the sides since 2022 - had already begun nearly two hours later than scheduled with no explanation of the delay.Russian delegates were led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who represented Moscow both during the first unsuccessful peace talks in Istanbul in 2022 and then again in May this year.Defense minister Rustem Umerov led the Ukranian delegation.
"The eyes of the whole world are focused on the contacts here," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Russian and Ukrainian delegations as they faced off against each other on opposite sides of the room in the sumptuous Ciragan Palace by the Bosphorus. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking in Lithuania, later said the two sides were preparing a new exchange of prisoners of war. Later, talking to the Russian state media, Medinsky confirmed that the Russian side had received Ukrainian peace proposals. Russia plans to present its memorandum only during the talks, Russian pro-state news agency Interfax reported, citing its sources.