Russia said he will send a delegation to Istanbul “list” to negotiate in a new dialogue cycle with Ukraine on June 2, but kyiv has not yet confirmed his participation.
The Turkish president, Rece Tayyip Erdogan, has maintained equidistance during the conflict and has fluid relationships with Russia and Ukraine, so it has become a key mediator at a time when the president of the United States, Donald Trump, tries to promote a Agreement to end the fighting.
“We sincerely believe that it is possible conclude the first and second conversations of Istanbul with a meeting Between Trump, Putin and Zelenski, ”under the leadership of President Erdogan, said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, during a visit to kyiv on Friday.
But the Kremlin rejected the idea from a face to face between Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelenski.
“First, they must be achieved results through direct negotiations between the two countries ”, He declared his spokesman, Dmitri Peskov.
Fidan met this week in Moscow with the Russian president and, upon arriving at kyiv, he met with his Ukrainian couple, Andrii Sibiga, and visited a memorial in honor of the deceased soldiers. During the day, he plans to meet Zelenski.
kyiv authorities are looking for Moscow first publish a road map with its main approaches. The Russians reiterated that they will share this memorandum only in the framework of the conversations.
Putin rejects the calls to a high unconditional firethat Ukraine supports, despite the pressure of the United States and Europe, while the Russian army continues to advance in eastern Ukraine, more than three years after the start of the invasion.
The Russian president defends that a truce would be possible if it is the fruit of negotiationsbut that these conversations must address what he calls the “fundamental causes” of the conflict.
Moscow usually uses these terms to refer to several demands as a Limitation of the military capacity of Ukraine, a veto at its entry into NATO, In addition to territorial concessions and the exit of the power of Zelenski.
For Ukraine, these conditions are unacceptable and accuses Russia of not wanting a high fire Not peace. He denounces that Moscow seeks to lengthen any peace process at a time when their troops are offensive.
USA
The Russian Foreign Ministry indicated that the delegation that Moscow will send to Istanbul will be the same as in the first cycle of conversations, on May 16, and that it will be directed by Vladimir Medinski, half -ranking presidential advisor, a gesture that Ukraine perceived as a lack of seriousness.
The Russian invasion that began in February 2022 is the Worse conflict in Europe since World War II and has left dozens or even hundreds of thousands of dead.
After having promised during his campaign to end the conflict in 24 hours at his return to the White House, Trump expresses ato growing frustration towards Russia.
In the last week, He crossed out Putin “crazy” and warned him that he is “playing with fire.”
It also criticizes Zelenski, whom he accuses of having been slow when looking for an agreement.
At a UN Security Council meeting, a high American diplomat warned that The United States could withdraw from negotiation.
“If Russia makes the wrong decision to continue with this catastrophic war, the United States will have to consider the possibility of retiring from negotiation efforts,” said John Kelley at the meeting, in which Russian and Ukrainian emissaries participated.