Moscow/Istanbul: Turkiye has claimed the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia will be held in Istanbul, but Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be there in person.
The Kremlin showed uncertainty regarding Ukrainian involvement in this potentially start and substance of the upcoming talks, which it said Russian pre-delegation will be led by a presidential aide in a statement.
According to the Kremlin, Russia will send presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky to represent Russia in negotiations for Russia.
It is also understood to include more senior officials in the delegation, such as Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.
The sessions are expected to focus on both political and technical issues, though the exact timing remains to be agreed upon with the parties involved.
Several days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin had called for restoring direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul “ without preconditions ”. That triggered Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s response, saying he will come to the talks in Turkey but challenged Putin to come meet him there. That means the Kremlin has now said that Putin will not be a part of this delegation and will ponder if President Zelenskyy will still travel directly or not, or if Ukraine expresses an identical demand Ukraine will send a team at lower levels of regard since it won’t be face to face with the Russian leader.
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The first possible direct talks between the sides were proposed in Turkey, home to former attempts to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow, as recently as a new set of problems at the beginning of 2022. The days are mixed with brutal fighting ongoing in Ukraine, and recent ceasefire/peace negotiations efforts by a host of international actors. Even though Russia has said it is open to negotiating and talks without preconditions, the fact remains that the two presidents have yet to meet face to face shows just how far the barrier is still for a diplomatic solution to this protracted conflict. The makeup and nature of the negotiation will be scoured for any signs of potential de-escalation, either.
