Moscow: Russia considers the resolution of the territorial issue to be the most important task in negotiations with Ukraine, Alexey Polischuk, director of the 2nd Department for Commonwealth of Independent States at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Sunday.
According to Anadolu Agency, Polischuk emphasized in an interview with Russian state news agency RIA that Moscow insists on adhering to the "Anchorage Formula." This agreement was reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump during their meeting on August 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. Polischuk stated that resolving the territorial issue according to this formula is essential for attaining a long-term settlement, a point reaffirmed during a meeting with American officials on January 22-23.
Moscow also highlighted the necessity of eliminating existing threats to its security within Ukraine's territory. Additional demands include restoring Kyiv's non-aligned, neutral, and non-nuclear status, ensuring the restoration and observance of language and religious rights and freedoms for ethnic Russians, Russian-speaking citizens, and minority groups, and rejecting "neo-Nazi ideology."
Polischuk expressed Russia's openness to resuming negotiations in Istanbul and acknowledged Trkiye's hospitality in the process. However, in November 2025, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced the suspension of negotiations in Istanbul, citing "a lack of tangible progress." Polischuk dismissed this explanation as "contrived," pointing out that Kyiv has not responded to Russia's proposals since July 2025 regarding a bilateral center for monitoring and controlling the ceasefire, three working groups, and Moscow's readiness to elevate the level of delegations.
In May, June, and July of the previous year, Ukraine and Russia held three rounds of talks in Istanbul facilitated by the US and hosted by Trkiye. These discussions resulted in major prisoner exchanges and an exchange of draft memoranda outlining their respective positions for a future peace deal, though they failed to secure a ceasefire.