On the morning of May 16 local time, the US, Ukraine, and Turkey held talks in Istanbul. In the afternoon, with Trump exerting strong pressure from the sidelines and Turkey witnessing the opening, Russia and Ukraine reluctantly resumed direct negotiations that had been suspended since March 2022. After 103 minutes, the outcome was meager: both sides agreed only to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war and to continue negotiations.
On May 19, Trump spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Zelensky, then with Russian President Putin, and later again with Zelensky and several EU leaders. In summary, based on the Russia-Ukraine talks on the 16th and Trump’s three phone calls on the 19th: Trump has stepped back, Putin is smiling, Zelensky is anxious, and Europe is suffering.
Intrigue in Russia-Ukraine Negotiations