A tiny victory for democracy was scored on Friday, more than three years into the bloodiest conflict to hit Europe since 1945. The Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Russia and Ukraine delegations met in person for the first time since March 2022, a month after Moscow invaded its neighbor. The scene was an Ottoman-era palace on Istanbul’s Bosphorus shoreline.
The US and Turkey’s backing and pressure helped bring the warring parties there.
The delegations were informed by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that there were two possible futures: one that would bring about peace and the other that would bring about greater devastation and death.
Sharp differences quickly surfaced during the less than two-hour-long discussions. A Ukrainian source said that the Kremlin made “new and unacceptable demands,” He claimed it included demanding a ceasefire in return for Kyiv’s army leaving vast swaths of its own territory.
As anticipated, there was no progress on the vital topic of a truce, although there is word of one concrete outcome.
One thousand prisoners of war will be returned to each side.
“This was the very good end to a very difficult day,” Serhiy Kyslytsya, the deputy minister of defense for Ukraine, said, adding that it was “potentially excellent news for 1,000 Ukrainian families.”
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led his nation’s delegation, stated that the exchange will happen shortly. “We know the date,” he said, “we’re not announcing it just yet.”
He stated that Zelensky and Putin should meet as “the next step.”
Vladimir Medinsky, the leader of the Russian delegation and a presidential assistant, said that request was “noted”. The Russian delegation, he said, was happy with the discussions and prepared to keep in touch.
The Russian delegation, he said, was happy with the discussions and prepared to keep in touch.
On Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry referred to President Zelensky as “a clown and a loser.”
However, Ukraine and some of its allies are concerned that Russia is using diplomacy just to buy time, divert attention from international calls for a ceasefire, and attempt to thwart the 18th round of European sanctions. They are already in the works, according to the EU.
Even though the two parties are currently seated at the same table, President Trump has stated that only his conversations with President Putin would be taken into consideration.
While flying on Air Force One on Thursday, he declared that “nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.”
The date and time of that encounter are unknown. Although high-level discussions are “certainly needed,” planning a summit will take time, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
President Zelensky is not likely to be invited to those discussions when they take place.
