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Meeting in Istanbul, DW: Russia is satisfied, Ukraine speaks of "unacceptable" demands!

2025-05-17 09:09:36Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Meeting in Istanbul, DW: Russia is satisfied, Ukraine speaks of

Representatives of Ukraine and Russia met briefly in Istanbul. No results, but further talks will be held.

It was a conversation without preconditions, as President Putin had warned, who wanted to make it clear, apparently immediately, that there is no need for a ceasefire and certainly no need for ultimatums to start negotiations.

From the Russian perspective, however, for a possible peace, there are circumstances that are no longer negotiable, but that the world and Ukraine must accept.

After two hours of talks, Russia is satisfied, Ukraine speaks of "unacceptable" demands.

Both sides have agreed to a prisoner exchange: 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, it would be the largest prisoner exchange to date.

How did the negotiations in Turkey come about?

Vladimir Putin himself proposed "direct negotiations" with Ukraine and Turkey, after the United States joined the pressure of several European countries on Moscow.

But with the request of Ukraine and the EU that, while negotiations are underway, the guns be silent for 30 days, Putin did not agree.

For a long time it was not clear whether Putin would go to Istanbul for the Ukraine-Russia talks.

Zelensky said he would meet him there personally, and Trump had also left open the possibility of going there, but in the end Putin did not accept the ceasefire and did not go to Istanbul in person.

So the talks are held at a much lower level.

As happened during the first talks in March 2022, Turkey again offered to wait for the negotiations.

But the initiative came from Putin himself. Turkey continues to maintain good relations with both countries.

Many Turkish companies cooperate with Russia. Turkey, as a NATO member, is the only country that did not join Western sanctions after the war began.

However, Turkey and its President Erdogan are also in constant contact with Ukraine. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskye has visited Turkey several times in recent years, most recently in March 2024.

Turkey also supplies weapons to Ukraine, especially strategically important drones.

Likewise, Turkey has not recognized Russia's territorial gains in Ukraine and is in no way comfortable with the fact of the Russian fleet's exit from the Black Sea, which is a kind of window to Istanbul.

Russian delegation at advisor level

Instead of Putin, Russia has sent people to Turkey who barely have any authority to take on any obligations.

Zelensky has repeatedly demanded that Putin come to Turkey in person to negotiate with him.

Until Wednesday — the day before the talks were originally scheduled to begin — Putin did not reveal whether he would attend. Then came the news that he would not be coming.

The Russian delegation was led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky. The former culture minister is considered a political second-tier figure and has been criticized on the international stage for spreading Kremlin propaganda.

This 54-year-old promoted, for example, a contested view of Russian and Ukrainian history among historians in school textbooks.

Scientists and Kremlin critics accuse him of deliberate falsifications and distortions of history.

Along with Medinsky, Moscow also sent Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandar Fomin to Turkey.

Igor Kostyukov, head of the Russian military intelligence service GRU, is also in the delegation.

Experts from the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the President should also participate in the talks.

Representatives of Ukraine

That wasn't clear for a long time either. Ukrainian President Zelensky traveled to the Turkish capital, Ankara, where he met with President Erdogan on Thursday.

But when it became clear that neither Putin nor US President Donald Trump would attend the negotiations, Zelensky also canceled his participation.

At the head of the Ukrainian delegation, he appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

All other negotiators were deputy intelligence chiefs, senior staff officers, and an advisor to the chief of staff.

Initially, the talks were supposed to start on May 15. First, according to Russian media, they were supposed to start in the morning, then in the afternoon. But the problem was precisely the issue of the composition of the Russian delegation and the level at which the dialogue could take place.

Two trilateral talks are currently underway: between the US, Ukraine and Turkey, and between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. A decision on a quadrilateral meeting in the US-Russia-Ukraine-Turkey format is now awaited.

The US is represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg. President Trump canceled a trip to Turkey after Putin announced he would not attend.

What does Ukraine want and what does Russia want?

Ukraine, backed by the EU and the US, is initially insisting on a 30-day ceasefire.

According to the Ukrainian leadership, this is the basis for negotiations on a long-term peace agreement.

The Ukrainian side demands the removal of Russian troops from the country and Ukraine's complete freedom to act like all sovereign states, as well as international guarantees.

Russia stressed ahead of the planned talks that they should be held "without preconditions." The head of the delegation, Medinsky, reiterated this claim.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said its side was "ready to work seriously" to find a solution. However, the focus should be on "eliminating the causes of the conflict."

This is an indication that Russia will not deviate from its old maximalist demands - Ukraine's withdrawal from NATO membership, the demilitarization of the country and the appropriation of Ukrainian territory into which Russian forces have penetrated./DW


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