Prior to the most recent round of peace talks with Ukrainian counterparts, a Russian delegation is heading to Istanbul, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who added that he anticipated the discussions to be “very difficult.”
A Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters news agency that a delegation from the country had arrived in Ankara on Wednesday to meet with Turkish officials for bilateral talks before the later meetings with Russia in Istanbul. According to the source, Kyiv is prepared to make significant progress toward achieving full peace and a ceasefire.
On Wednesday evening, Peskov told reporters that the talks will take place in the Turkish city for the third iteration in a while. The first meeting between the parties in more than seven weeks, suggested by Ukraine last week amid persistent US pressure to reach a ceasefire, has a muted likelihood of a resolution.
No one wants an easy road, Peskov told reporters.
Prior discussions have resulted in numerous exchanges of fallen soldiers’ bodies and prisoners of war.
However, they were unable to end the conflict because Russian negotiators refused to drop harsh demands against Ukraine, including renunciating four of its own regions and rejecting Western military support.
No “miraclear breakthroughs” were anticipated
Peskov predicted that the discussions would include prisoner exchanges as well as the positions set out in the draft memoranda presented by each side. He had stated on Tuesday that it was “hardly possible” to hope for some miraculous breakthroughs.
Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister and presidential adviser, will lead Kyiv’s delegation, while Rustem Umerov, a former defense minister, and current secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, will serve as the head of Russia’s delegation.
Russia accused Medinsky of sending officials to the talks without the authority to decide what would end the conflict, as Ukraine had previously claimed.
Zelenskyy outlines modest goals.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, laid out his country’s objectives in a statement released on social media platform X on Tuesday.
Instead of discussing a comprehensive ceasefire agreement, they suggested organizing a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which might put an end to the conflict.
He claimed that Ukraine was “trying to secure the release of our people from captivity and the return of abducted children,” stop the killings, and set up a leaders’ meeting to set up a “truly successful end to this war.”
He claimed that “our position is completely open.” Russia must end the conflict that started, not Ukraine, because it never wanted it.
What are the outcomes that Ukraine needs from the negotiations? I discussed them at a meeting.
Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, gave an update on how the agreements reached at the second meeting with the Russian side in Istanbul were being implemented. twitter.com/0JQ1fGyaPC
He claimed in a different statement on Tuesday that work was being done to prepare for the prisoner exchanges that had been discussed in previous discussions with Russia.
We have been able to significantly intensify the exchange process over the spring and summer, he said. According to  , “people who have been held in Russian prisons and camps since before the full-scale war are among those who have been freed from captivity.”
“Keeping the conversation going”
Rory Challands, a reporter from Kyiv, claimed that no indication was made that the discussions would “be especially productive.”
They are most likely going to rehabilitate the assumptions made during previous discussions, which essentially facilitate the exchange of prisoners and the transfer of soldiers’ remains.
He added that Kyiv was also concerned about the return of children who had been seized from occupied areas by Russia.
However, he said, “I don’t believe there is any expectation here that these discussions will lead to any significant breakthrough toward peace.”
“It’s likely just going to be keeping the dialogue going and ensuring that at least those minor fundamental areas are improved.”
The bloodshed continues
As Russia’s forces continue its bloody offensive against its neighbor, holding talks scheduled to take place as its forces relentlessly try to advance along the 1, 000km (620-mile) front line.
About 6 km (3. 7 miles) from the Ukrainian border, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that its forces had taken control of Varachyne in the country’s northeast Sumy region. Putin made a statement about his plans to occupy Ukrainian border areas in the Sumy region in recent weeks.
A 66-year-old woman was killed overnight by Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, according to the dpa news agency, quoting regional military governor Oleksandr Prokudin. He claimed on Telegram that two 13-year-olds, among them, had been hurt.
Source: Aljazeera
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