Ukraine: Getting to the negotiations in Turkey
It was long unclear whether Ukraine would send a delegation to Istanbul as the Kremlin refused to show the list on Russian requirements for a ceasefire. This is despite the fact that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the country’s terms were in a memorandum.
Ukraine replied that the country only comes if Russia shares the list and that the Russian refusal to do so was a « sign of unreasonable ultimatum », according to the country’s Foreign Ministry.
On Sunday, however, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyj confirmed that a delegation will be sent to the meeting in Turkey on Monday. Just as the last countries met in direct negotiations, in early May, the Ukrainian delegation will be led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
Last countries met you could not agree on peace or ceasefire but only an extensive change of prison.
In the Russian conditions, according to Reuter’s information, there must be requirements that NATO prints that the organization should not expand east, something that the US envoy in Ukraine Keith Kellogg described as « understandable ».
On Sunday, in connection with Ukraine announcing that a delegation is coming to Istanbul, the country published its list of requirements to reach an agreement with Moscow. Kiev requires, among other things, that the parts of Ukraine, which today are occupied by Russia’s forces, should not be recognized as Russian. Ukraine also requires that there are no restrictions on how large the country’s military may be after a peace agreement is in place.
On Sunday afternoon, Russia, according to State Ria Novosti, announced that the country’s delegation is on its way to Istanbul. Just like the last meeting, the Kremlin has sent President Putin’s adviser Vladimir Medinsky to lead the negotiations.
