FirstUp: Russia to hold peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul and other headlines of the day

It is set to be a busy Monday with several events lined up for the day.

Firstly, Russia will hold peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul today. Meanwhile, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet the country’s provincial and territorial premiers in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan today.

Dylan Earl, a British man will go on trial for accused of masterminding arson attacks on Ukrainian-linked businesses for Russia. In India, Meghalaya and Assam are set to hold the next round of border talks today at Guwahati.

Here is all that is set to take place throughout the day.

Russia likely to hold peace talks in Istanbul

Russia is likely to hold peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2. The talks follow a previous meeting in Istanbul on May 16, which was the first one since March 2022.

Moscow has laid out prerequisites for a ceasefire, to which Kyiv has not yet replied. “We hope that all those sincerely interested in the success of the peace process will support holding a new round of negotiations,” said  Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

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Vladimir Medinsky, head of Russia’s negotiating team, said he had contacted Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov to propose the June 2 meeting in Istanbul, stating Russia was ready for a “substantive discussion” on the ceasefire package, reported news website The Indian Express.

Mark Carney to meet Canada’s premiers

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will convene an in-person meeting with Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan today. This gathering aims to address pressing national issues, including economic resilience, internal trade barriers and the country’s response to escalating trade tensions with the United States.

The meeting follows Carney’s recent visit to Washington, DC, where he met with US President Donald Trump to discuss the imposition of new tariffs on Canadian goods. In a social media post, Carney emphasised the need for “launching big nation-building projects, removing internal trade barriers and building one Canadian economy” to strengthen the nation’s economic foundation.

This First Ministers’ Meeting is Carney’s first in-person engagement with the premiers since assuming office in March 2025. It serves as a critical step in aligning federal and provincial strategies to navigate economic uncertainties and reinforce Canada’s sovereignty amid external pressures.

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British man to go on trial accused of masterminding arson attacks

A 20-year-old British man Dylan Earl is scheduled to stand trial at London’s Old Bailey after being accused of orchestrating an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked business in East London. Prosecutors allege that Earl masterminded the March 2024 blaze at a warehouse in Leyton, acting on behalf of the Russian state and the Wagner Group, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom, reported news website BBC.

Earl faces charges under the National Security Act 2023, marking one of the first applications of this legislation. He has pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and preparatory conduct to commit acts endangering life but denies a charge of assisting a foreign intelligence service. The fire, which required 60 firefighters to control, targeted a warehouse owned by a Ukrainian businessman, referred to in court as “Mr. X.” The incident is part of a broader pattern of suspected Russian-backed sabotage across Europe, including arson attacks in Poland, Lithuania, and Germany.

Assam-Meghalaya to resume border talks

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma will meet his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma to hold the next round of border talks on June 2 at Guwahati aimed at resolving the longstanding border disputes between their states.

This meeting marks the continuation of efforts following the March 2022 memorandum of understanding (MoU), which addressed six of the twelve contentious areas along the 885-kilometer interstate boundary.

Earlier, Meghalaya chief secretary Donald Philips Wahlang said that the meeting would be held at the Chief Minister level. “The next Chief Minister level talks would be held to sort out differences, including issues that we have both for phase I and II,” Wahlang said.

With inputs from agencies