The Ukraine-Russia peace talks begin
Ukrainecast
BBC
4.7 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 May 2025
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ukraine and Russia have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each after the first face-to-face talks in three years. Kyiv also requested direct talks with President Vladimir Putin, and Moscow says it "noted" this request.
So is this a diplomatic breakthrough?
Vitaly gauges the mood from a sunny Istanbul, explains why an interpreter was required, and talks about what the next steps might be.
Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Jamie Coomarasamy. The producer was Ben Carter. The technical producer was Phil Bull. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480
You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:04.7 | It's 1,178 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:10.8 | And today, for the first time since 2022, Ukrainian and Russian officials met for the first face-to-face talks. |
| 0:19.8 | And, Jamie, it was pretty formal historic setting for them, |
| 0:22.6 | a 19th century Ottoman Palace on the Bosphorus Strait. And when you look at the pictures, |
| 0:27.8 | there was a real symmetry to the room. There was. And in contrast to those previous talks three years ago, |
| 0:34.8 | they were not on either side of one long table. It was very much a table that |
| 0:41.1 | was in a square horseshoe shape, if you like. The Ukrainians were on one side. The Russians were on the |
| 0:48.2 | other side. There was a physical distance. There were no handshakes. It was perhaps as we might have expected given the difficulties |
| 0:57.3 | getting to this point. But it happened. It happened. We were waiting, we were watching, |
| 1:02.9 | and I mean, there is some significance in the fact, Jamie, that it happened. Absolutely. No, |
| 1:07.1 | and given the toing and throwing yesterday, would it happen, wouldn't it? |
| 1:11.4 | And the fact it did is a moment. |
| 1:14.2 | In this episode, we're going to talk about what was discussed in today's meeting and ask |
| 1:18.2 | whether this diplomatic breakthrough might pave the way for a meeting, an actual meeting |
| 1:22.8 | between Vladimir Putin and Volodymer Zelensky. |
| 1:25.9 | This is Ukrainecast. |
| 1:28.3 | Ukraine cast from BBC News. This is Ukraine cast. Ukraine cast from babies and use. |
| 1:30.9 | Life is not safe in Ukraine. |
| 1:33.0 | Nor are in Ukraine. |
| 1:33.9 | We've had three years of bloody conflict now. |
| 1:35.9 | We need to get to that lasting peace. |
... |
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