The meeting of the delegations of Ukraine and Russia ended in Istanbul: the parties made statements

On May 16, a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in Istanbul, which lasted more than two hours. Based on its results, the parties made preliminary statements. About this informs Reuters.

Representatives of Turkey were also present at the beginning of the negotiations. The Ukrainian side was represented by the Minister of Defense Rustem Umyerov, the first deputy heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the SBU, the Main Intelligence Directorate and other officials. Communication with the Russian side took place through an interpreter.

Before the start of the meeting, Rustem Umyerov said that peace is possible only under the conditions of a complete ceasefire for at least 30 days, the return of deported Ukrainian children and the exchange of prisoners based on the principle of “all for all”.

The Russian delegation was headed by Volodymyr Medynskyi, who previously headed the negotiating group in 2022. The delegation also included deputy ministers of foreign affairs and defense of Russia, as well as the head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff.

“We are satisfied with the results of negotiations with Ukraine, and are ready to talk further, the exchange of prisoners 1,000 for 1,000 will take place in the coming days.” Medinsky said.

In his turn, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umyerov, also summed up the results of the negotiations with representatives of Russia. According to him, the key topics of discussion between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations were the exchange of prisoners and the ceasefire.

“The purpose of our negotiations was to discuss the ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners. We are also potentially preparing a meeting between the leaders of the countries.” Umerov said.

He noted that the parties discussed a possible exchange of prisoners in the format of 1,000 for 1,000. The Ukrainian side is currently working on the details of this process. According to Umerov, information on further steps will be announced later.

The delegations of Ukraine and Russia are currently staying in the palace, which may indicate the possibility of a second round of negotiations. According to available information, the Russian side has put forward a number of demands that the Ukrainian delegation considers unacceptable. It is probably about the demand for the complete withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the territories that Moscow calls “disputed”.

From the point of view of the Ukrainian delegation, such a concession is unacceptable, as it undermines the sovereignty of the state and contradicts the norms of international law. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has not yet officially commented on these data. At the same time, sources emphasize that Kyiv’s position remains unchanged: there will be no negotiations under the terms of an ultimatum.