Russian, Ukrainian delegations to hold talks in Turkey
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will meet in Istanbul for their first peace talks for more than seven weeks.
The Kremlin reduced any breakthrough expectations at the Wednesday evening meeting, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that this week should focus on preparing a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Naturally, no one expects an easy way. Naturally, this will be a very difficult conversation. He said.
A Ukrainian diplomatic source said the country will see a Putin-Zelenskiy meeting as a lock requirement for a breakthrough.
The source said, “The Ukrainian delegation has been preparing to take important steps to Türkiye and take important steps for full ceasefire, but everything will depend on whether the Russian side is willing to take a constructive approach.” He said.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry source said that the meeting at the Ciragan Palace is expected to open explanations for two delegations of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Previous talks on May 16 and June 2 led to the change of the ruins of thousands of war prisoners and dead soldiers.
However, these meetings lasted less than three hours and did not make a breakthrough in February 2022 with Russia’s full -scale Ukrainian invasion.
In February, US President Donald Trump organized relations with Zelenskiy after a public row in the White House and recently expressed his recent disappointment with Putin.
Last week, unless a peace agreement was reached within 50 days, he threatened heavy new sanctions on Russia and countries that purchased exports, but the reactions to the financial markets claimed that investors would follow.
On Wednesday, Russia said that its forces caught the Varachyne settlement in the Sumy region of Ukraine, where Putin had ordered Ukraine to create a buffer zone after a shock attack last year and kept a part of its region for months.
Reuters could not independently confirm the Battlefield report.
In recent weeks, the Russian forces have started some of the heaviest air strikes of the war, especially focusing on the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Ukraine returned with its own attacks, and last month, Russia’s nuclear strategic bombardment fleet, in the depths of the country, smuggled the plane close to air bases close to air bases.
Zelenskiy said that the agenda was open for negotiations at the beginning of this week: the return of the prisoners of war and children who were kidnapped by the Russian forces, and the preparation of a meeting between him and Putin.
Putin refused to meet with Zelenskiy to face him face -to -face and said he did not see him as a legitimate leader because Ukraine, who was under martial law, did not make new elections when Zelenskiy’s five -year mission ended last year.
Russia also refuses to kidnap children.
The Kremlin said it was not realistic to wait for “miracles” from the talks this week.
At the last meeting on June 2, Russia gave a memorandum to Ukraine that determines its key demands: the Ukrainian forces claimed that Russia itself from the four regions of the country; Borders in the size of the Ukrainian army; Developed rights for Russian speakers in Ukraine; And by Ukraine, accepting neutral status except NATO or any other alliance.
Ukraine sees these terms as equivalent to surrendering, and Zelenskiy described the Russian stance as an ultimatom.
Ukraine immediately requires any restriction on ceasefire, compensation, international security guarantees and military power.
