Friday’s Kyiv-Moscow talks ended at around 3:30 p.m., a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry told AFP. 

However, there are conflicting reports as to whether the talks have ended officially – Russian state outlet RIA Novosti claims the parties are taking a break, while a senior Ukrainian official told AFP that more talks can happen on Friday but they are “not planned.”

While the content of the talks remains unclear, Kyiv is ostensibly upset with what it called unacceptable demands from Moscow. 

Sky News, citing its “Ukrainian diplomatic source,” said Moscow’s demands included the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Ukraine to implement a ceasefire. 

Previously, Moscow has vowed to capture all Ukrainian regions it has annexed without stopping at contact lines, despite only controlling parts of the five regions. 

AFP, citing similar sources, said Moscow raised “unacceptable demands” to derail the talks without further elaboration. 

Moscow rejected US mediation in the talks, and the Kyiv and Moscow delegations relied on interpreters for communication. 

Prior to the talks, both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his aide leading the delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, have said Moscow aims to address the so-called “root causes” of its invasion and alleges logistical difficulty in implementing an unconditional ceasefire called by Kyiv and the West. 

Other Topics of Interest

Delegations spoke via interpreter; Zelensky warns talks are a sham and calls for more sanctions if Russia is not serious.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said prior to the talks that Kyiv’s goal is to achieve a 30-day unconditional ceasefire through the talks.

Moscow has pursued similar strategies in past peace talks by issuing maximalist demands and subsequently blaming the other parties for noncompliance. 

Following March’s talks with Kyiv and Washington in Saudi Arabia, the parties ostensibly agreed on ceasefires on the Black Sea and energy infrastructure. 

But later, Moscow issued additional demands asking the West to lift sanctions for the Black Sea ceasefire, while listing different terms for the energy ceasefire without the consent of other parties. 

This is a developing story.