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The two sides are meeting on Monday in Istanbul, but expectations for a breakthrough are low.
June 2, 2025, 5:39 a.m. ET
Russia and Ukraine were set to meet in Istanbul on Monday for peace talks, the second round of negotiations since the adversaries resumed direct dialogue two weeks ago.
The two sides are expected to formally exchange their respective conditions for a cease-fire, but expectations for the talks are low.
Moscow and Kyiv are talking under pressure from President Trump, who has alternatively cajoled and chided the leaders of both countries. But Russia and Ukraine have been holding firm, with neither expected to present terms that are acceptable to the other side.
The talks — which will take place in a five-star hotel on the shore of the Bosporus — come a day after Russia and Ukraine exchanged some of the most intense air attacks of the war.
Here’s what you need to know about the cease-fire talks:
What happened in the first round?
At the first Istanbul meeting in mid-May, both sides agreed to conduct a large prisoner swap, — and to write up and share with each other the conditions for a possible cease-fire.
