Bangladesh, May 18 -- The resumption of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul – the first such engagement in over three years – offers a rare and fragile opportunity for peace amid a brutal war that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives. These talks, cautiously welcomed by both parties, are not yet historic breakthroughs. But they are not meaningless either. In fact, they may represent a last off-ramp from a widening and increasingly unsustainable conflict.

What makes Istanbul Talks 2.0 particularly significant is not what happened during the initial two-hour session, but the context surrounding it: who initiated them, how they were received, and the mindset of the participants – especially Ukrain...