Delegations from Ukraine and Russia met in Turkey on Friday for the first time since 2022, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decried the Russian side of engaging in theatrics, and not being interested in peace.
Russia and Ukraine met for face-to-face talks for the first time in over three years on Friday, the talks having been delayed 24 hours after the original mooted start on Thursday. They lasted a little over two years and appeared to end without meaningful progress.
The Times. A Ukrainian spokesman is reported to have said of the talks: “Russian demands are detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed. They include ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from its territory for a ceasefire and other non-starters and non-constructive conditions”.
Russia, on the other hand accused the Ukrainian delegation of being “geared toward war, not peace”, Kremlin media said. A spokesman alleged Ukraine was attempting “staged provocations” and “stunts”.
Chaired by the Turkish foreign minister as “technical” discussions to pave the way for later leader talks, a Ukrainian delegation led by their defence minister Minister Rustem Umerov had sat across from a Russian one headed by Kremlin apparatchik Vladimir Medinsky.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Turkey yesterday but has since flown out for a European summit in Albania, so was not present. Prefiguring the outcome of the talks, he had again criticised the Russian delegation as being a “theatrical” sham, sent without delegated powers from Putin to actually come to any agreements and said should the talks collapse this would be Russia’s fault and they should be punished by the international communality for that.
Russia, for their part, denied claims the Moscow delegation was a phony and that, actually, it was in constant contact with President Putin back home.
Zelensky called back to Ukraine’s previously stated requirements for talks, that there could be no peace negotiations unless a ceasefire is in place because Ukrainian negotiators could not sit across from Russians while killing was ongoing. He said on Friday: “Our number one priority is a full, unconditional and honest ceasefire… This must happen immediately to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy”.
If Russia failed to agree a ceasefire, Zelensky said, it would prove “Putin does not want to end the war” and Ukraine’s backers worldwide should respond by stepping up “pressure” on Moscow to force them to participate in good faith.
The two delegations did not shake hands before taking their seats and are not even directly communicating. CNN reports the Ukrainian delegation is only talking to the Russians through an interpreter. As noted, this is likely more a symbolic act, given how widely Russian is spoken in Ukraine. Russian state media claimed, meanwhile, that all talks were in Russian only.
This story is developing, more follows
