The meeting held on Friday in Istanbul – one day later than planned – between delegations from Ukraine and Russia to try to bring positions closer and reach a peace agreement, the first between the two countries since 2022, ended without significant progress except for a mutual exchange of prisoners, after Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to attend and sent what Zelenskyy described as “puppets with no decision-making power”.
International and Ukrainian media reported that, following the meeting in the Turkish metropolis, both sides agreed to exchange 2,000 prisoners – 1,000 from each side – as soon as possible, although no dates were specified. It was also agreed that the Kremlin would consider a future ceasefire agreement and even a possible summit between Putin and Zelenskyy, but again without specifying a timeframe.
Apart from these decisions, the delegations from both countries tried unsuccessfully to bridge the gap on a peace agreement, but according to the Ukrainian representatives, this was made impossible by the conditions put on the table by the Russians, who demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claims as its own –Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk— as a condition for considering a cessation of hostilities, something that the delegation sent by Kiev categorically rejected.
Ukraine: Russian demands are ‘unrealistic’
Ukraine has in fact lamented that the delegation sent by Russia lacked the authority to make decisions ‘or agree on anything important that would help end the war.’ Ukrainian sources emphasised the ‘unrealistic nature’ of the demands made by the Russian envoys at the meeting in Istanbul, where, in Putin’s absence, Zelenskyy declined to attend and the Ukrainian delegation was led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.
Prior to the crucial meeting between the representatives of Russia and Ukraine, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Ukraine and the US had also met in the Turkish metropolis to prepare for a meeting that seemed doomed to failure from the moment Putin refused to travel to Istanbul, despite the fact that Zelenskyy did travel to Turkey, showing himself willing to meet face to face with his Russian counterpart.
From Albania, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan warned on Friday that the world is at a ‘critical juncture’ to stop the war in Ukraine. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made clear his frustration at the low level of the delegation sent by Russia to Istanbul, which in his view shows the Kremlin’s lack of real willingness to negotiate peace: ‘Our delegation is ready for the meeting in Istanbul, but on the Russian side, there is no one with the capacity to make decisions… If there is no concrete progress, that means they are not ready to negotiate, that there is no political will.’
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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