Russia, Ukraine delegations meet in Istanbul for negotiations

Europe, Middle East, News March 30, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul, Turkey, to hold the fifth round of negotiations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its 34th day.

During his opening remarks, President Erdogan stated that “the whole world is waiting for a good news from you.” He added, “We have now entered a period where concrete results are needed. It should be possible to reach a solution acceptable to the international community.”

The Russian and Ukrainian sides came together for face-to-face negotiations for the first time in a venue other than Belarus after more than two weeks. The meeting took place in a 19th century Ottoman palace in Istanbul with the Russian side dressed in suits while the Ukrainian side chose to wear more casual military-style attire.

As the negotiations between the two sides proceeded, the chances of a substantial breakthrough became even bleaker. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated on March 28 that Kyiv’s goal for these negotiations is to secure a ceasefire deal for civilian evacuation.

The delegations from Russia and Ukraine arrived in Istanbul at 9 a.m. on March 29. After the Turkish President’s address, the two delegations sat face-to-face with each other to commence the peace talks.

*^{Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a round of Russian-Ukrainian talks at the Dolmabahce Palace on March 29, 2022, in Istanbul, Turkey. (Image Credit: Sergei Karpukhin/TASS)}*

As a run-up to the talks in Istanbul, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed willingness to accept the Kremlin’s demands of declaring neutrality, staying out of NATO, and pledging not to develop nuclear weapons. The Ukrainian President stated that “Security guarantees and neutrality, the non-nuclear status of our state, we are ready to do that.”

The head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky termed the meeting “constructive” and said that Russia is de-escalation steps in the political as well as military areas. According to Medinsky, the officials of Russia and Ukraine also discussed the possibility of a meeting between the leaders of the two countries.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin also stated that the talks are moving on “practical terms”, and Russia was ready to “drastically” decrease its “military activity” toward Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was also spotted during the negotiation meeting in Istanbul. The former owner of the Chelsea Football Club has been playing his role in negotiations from the Russian side. Reports had surfaced earlier that Abramovich and some other negotiators had shown symptoms of poisoning after negotiations earlier this month. Following the reports, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba stated on national television that he has advised his side of the negotiating delegation not to eat or drink anything at the meeting.

While speaking about the results of the talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the talks between the two sides had been the most successful meeting so far and it marked the most significant progress between the two sides to date. While speaking at the venue of the peace talks, Cavusoglu said that Turkey has welcomed the two countries to reach a common understanding on certain issues that would help the ongoing war to come to an end.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisor Mykhailo Podoliak said that Ukraine’s goals while walking into the talks were unconditional security guarantees, a ceasefire, and commitments to the humanitarian evacuation of civilians.