Merz said he was disappointed with the talks in Istanbul

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed disappointment over Russia's failure to seize the opportunity to start ceasefire talks. He noted that Germany would continue to support Ukraine in defence against Russian aggression. This was reported by Friedrich Merz in the social network X.

Russia had a good opportunity to start negotiations on a peace agreement with a preliminary ceasefire agreement, and we are very disappointed that this did not happen," Merz said.

the talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul on 16 May and lasted about two hours. The Russian delegation threatened to occupy Kharkiv and Sumy regions and insisted on recognising the annexation of Crimea.

Russia also proposed the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from territories not captured by the war as a condition for a silence regime. Representatives of Turkey, Ukraine and Russia took part in the talks. Ukraine was represented by Defence Minister Rustem Umierov.

After the talks, Umierov said that they discussed the issues of prisoner exchange and cease-fire, as well as a possible exchange in the format of 1,000 by 1,000.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met Erdoğan in Ankara, expressed dissatisfaction with the low level of the Russian delegation but sent his delegation to Istanbul as a sign of respect for Turkey and the USA.