Negotiations in Istanbul on the verge of breakdown due to Russia: details
Фото: Reuters
The third round of bilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Istanbul on Wednesday, July 23. The Ukrainian delegation will focus on the return of Ukrainian children captured and deported to the Russian Federation.
This was previously stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The delegation will be led by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov. The negotiating team will also include representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the President.
However, even before the talks began, Russia began to effectively block them. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already stated that “there is no reason to count on any breakthroughs.” He emphasized that Russia “intends to seek to secure its interests and fulfill the tasks set.”
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) state that these are the initial military goals of the Russian Federation: a change of government in Ukraine, NATO’s rejection of the open door policy, and forcing Ukraine to limit its defense capabilities. All of these are unacceptable conditions for Ukraine.
“Russia is deliberately trying to drag out the negotiation process in order to gain additional gains on the battlefield,” ISW notes.
The Kremlin also said that the Istanbul meeting would consider the same draft memorandums that the parties exchanged on June 2, during the second round of talks. Analysts recall that at that time the Russian side delayed submitting the memorandum text until the very day of the talks, which is further evidence of Moscow’s unwillingness to achieve real results.
As we will recall, Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously reported that the initiative for the negotiations belonged to the Ukrainian side. In particular, Rustem Umerov offered the Russians a meeting to discuss the exchange of prisoners, the return of children, and “the cessation of the killings.”
The second round of talks, held on June 2 in Istanbul, ended with an agreement on an “all-for-all” exchange in two categories – the seriously wounded and seriously ill, as well as military personnel under the age of 25. No political or security agreements were reached at that time.
As a reminder, the head of state emphasized that a personal conversation between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia has the potential to provide a real breakthrough in the search for peace.
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