Türkiye on Friday brought together Ukraine and Russia for the second time since the start of war in thanks to diplomatic efforts as part of the Istanbul peace talks.
"We must seize this opportunity to advance on the path to peace," Fidan said during his opening speech, addressing delegations from both Russia and Ukraine, as well as Turkish mediators. "Every day of delay is costing lives."
"While the war continues to take lives, it is of critical importance that the cease-fire be implemented as soon as possible," he said.
The talks must also work toward bringing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin together, Fidan added.
"It is also very important that these talks form the basis of a leader's meeting. We wholeheartedly believe it is possible to reach peace through constructive negotiations," he said.
"As you may agree, there are two paths at this stage. One of the paths will initiate a process that will lead us to peace, while the other will lead to more destruction and loss of life. The parties will decide which of these paths they will choose, of their own free will."
Türkiye's top diplomat underlined the efforts put forth by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan throughout the war. "Türkiye will always be with you in our efforts to end the war and establish peace. We are also ready to make every possible contribution to peace," Fidan said.
Fidan opened the meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations around 1:35 p.m. (10:35 a.m. GMT) in Istanbul's Dolmabahçe Palace.
He sat at the head of a table in front of Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian flags – with Russian and Ukrainian delegations facing each other, footage from the room showed.
Hundreds of journalists were camped outside the palace.
Speaking at the European Political Community summit in Albania, Zelenskyy said that Putin was "afraid" to attend the Türkiye peace talks and urged "strong reaction" against Moscow if the Istanbul talks fail.
The Russian side is being led by Vladimir Medinsky, a hawkish adviser to Putin who has questioned Ukraine's right to exist and led failed talks in 2022 at the start of the war. The Kremlin named three other negotiators – Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin and Igor Kostyukov, director of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency. Top diplomats like Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov or Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov – involved in previous talks with the United States – were also absent.
Ukraine's delegation will be led by Umerov, along with about a dozen deputy-level officials. He will be joined by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, deputy Security Service head Oleksandr Poklad, Deputy Chief of General Staff Oleksiy Shevchenko, and a few more deputy-level officials from the government's military bodies, according to Zelenskyy's decree.
Russia wants Ukraine to make massive territorial concessions, giving up even more land than it has lost on the battlefield, and has also at times sought the removal of Zelenskyy, pledges of military neutrality and limits on Ukraine's army. Kyiv and the West reject those calls, but Zelenskyy has conceded that Ukraine might only get back some territory through diplomatic means. Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia invaded in February 2022 and Moscow's army controls around a fifth of Ukraine's territory.
The two sides spent the 24 hours before the talks slinging insults at each other, and Zelenskyy accused Moscow of not being "serious" about peace. Zelenskyy was in Ankara on Thursday, meeting with Erdoğan, waiting for a potential meeting with Putin, who did not show up.
Nevertheless, the fact that the meeting was taking place at all was a sign of movement, with both sides having come under intense pressure from Washington to open talks.
Putin declined to travel to Türkiye for the talks, which he had proposed, sending a second-level delegation instead.
Both Moscow and Washington have also talked up the need for a meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on the conflict.
"Contacts between Presidents Putin and Trump are extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian settlement," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday, adding that "a meeting is undoubtedly necessary."
Trump had said Thursday that nothing would be settled until the two leaders met.
"Ukraine is ready for peace and a long-term and unconditional cease-fire," Zelenskyy's top aide Andriy Yermak said Friday.
"The Ukrainian delegation is in Istanbul today to achieve an unconditional cease-fire – this is our priority," he added.
Ahead of the talks with Russia, Ukrainian officials held meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's special envoy Keith Kellogg and the national security advisors of Britain, France and Germany.
Rubio "discussed the importance of seeking a peaceful end to the Russia-Ukraine war" and reiterated "the U.S. position that the killing needs to stop," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
Western leaders have criticized Putin for skipping the talks and sending his aide – a former cultural minister who is not seen as a key Kremlin decision-maker – Vladimir Medinsky.
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas charged Friday that Russia was "clearly" not working for peace with Ukraine.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Putin had made a "big mistake" by sending a lower-ranking Russian delegation to Istanbul.
NATO member Türkiye is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Türkiye has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.
While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
Representatives for Moscow and Kyiv discussed an outline to end the war previously in Istanbul in March 2022.
But those talks broke down following Russia's retreat from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where hundreds of civilians were found dead following a month-long occupation by Russian forces.
Contact between the warring sides has been limited since and mainly dedicated to humanitarian issues such as prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of soldiers' remains.
Ankara was also a key player in the now-on-hold deal that allowed for the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea despite the blockade of its ports after Moscow launched its invasion in late February 2022.
