Negotiations between the countries’ foreign ministers in Turkey ended fruitless earlier this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is hosting the ongoing talks.
29.3. 10:29 • Updated March 29th. 10:31
The Ukrainian and Russian delegations have continued peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey. These are the first face-to-face talks in several weeks. According to the Russian news agency Tassi, the talks will take place at Dolmabahçe Palace.
Ukraine has said it considers a ceasefire to be a priority in the negotiations. However, representatives of both Ukraine and the United States suspect that Russia has no plans to do so.
Russia said on Monday that no significant breakthroughs have been achieved in negotiations with Ukraine so far. Negotiations have taken place via video connections almost daily.
Advisers to the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia will meet at the negotiating table in Istanbul. The countries’ foreign ministers also held face-to-face talks in Turkey earlier in March. Negotiations ended without breakthroughs.
The Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul will be led by an adviser to the President Myhailo Podoljak and the Minister of Defense Oleksi Reznikov. He is Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinski.
Lavrov: Presidential talks call for consensus on key issues
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that if negotiations were to take place now between the presidents, the consequences would be negative.
According to Lavrov, the president Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky should meet face-to-face only when countries are closer to each other on so-called key issues.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine bury its dream of joining NATO. President Zelenskyi, for his part, has emphasized that Ukraine demands respect for its territorial sovereignty and integrity.
However, Zelenskyi has expressed readiness to compromise on NATO. The President of Ukraine has called for his country to need so-called security guarantees as part of any solution.
In addition to the ceasefire, talks starting on Tuesday are set to move forward on the control of the rebel areas of eastern Ukraine and the Russian Crimean peninsula.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has so far virtually come to a halt. However, the so-called stalemate does not change the situation of civilians, which is getting worse by the day, especially in the areas besieged by Russia.
UN Secretary – General António Guterres has therefore called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine to help civilians. According to Guterres, a humanitarian ceasefire could pave the way for a political ceasefire.