Ukraine and Russia will hold talks in Istanbul
Alyona Mazurenko - Sunday, March 27, 2022, 21:40
A new round of talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Istanbul on March 29.
Source: high-ranking sources of Ukrainska Pravda, Anadolu
Details: Ukrainian sources have said that the talks will take place in Istanbul on March 29.
The Turkish newspaper writes that the meeting place was confirmed after a conversation between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian delegation will travel to Poland, from where it will fly to Turkey, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Background: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated a few days ago that Ukraine was ready to agree to 4 out of Russia’s 6 demands, including renouncing NATO membership and recognising Russian as the second state language.
In response, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said that there was no consensus with Russia on the four points of the talks mentioned by the Turkish president.
Significance: RecepTayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly stated that he would like to mediate the talks between the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, the Turkish side often repeats the Kremlin's line.
Turkey, despite NATO membership, is trying to maintain a partnership with Russia to balance security interests in the Black Sea and the Caucasus, primarily because of the territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
More background:
As of March 27, the 32nd day of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine is underway. The enemy has lost a lot of military equipment and almost 17,000 military personnel.
Ukrainian cities have been completely destroyed by Russian airstrikes. Ukraine calls on the world to create a no-fly zone or provide aircraft, tanks and air defence to protect the country against Russian bombs.
As of March 27, no country or union in the world has provided or sold Ukraine the weapons it has requested.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have been going on since the first days of the war. The parties have managed to agree only on some humanitarian corridors from the blocked or occupied cities. The Russians have often violated these agreements, shellingl evacuation buses, and seizing humanitarian aid.
Since the beginning of the war, the Russians have announced the goals of their so-called "special operation." In particular, the recognition of Crimea and Donbas, making Russian the second state language, non-aligned status, and so-called "de-Nazification" and "demilitarisation".
The citizens of Ukraine are not ready to make concessions to the aggressors and do not recognise the occupation of Crimea and Donbas, according to Ukrainian opinion polls.
