Throughout 2022, Ukraine and Russia held secret peace talks, mostly related to humanitarian issues. This was reported by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umyerov v interview for The Washington Post.
As the publication notes, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Umerov participated in backroom negotiations with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in Istanbul, but these negotiations did not achieve success.
However, according to Umyerov, one of the key agreements reached was the opening of the humanitarian corridor, which allowed 400,000 Ukrainians to leave the temporarily occupied territories. Ukraine and Russia also agreed on the exchange of prisoners, political prisoners and wounded soldiers.
In addition, a significant result of the negotiations was the conclusion of agreements on the export of grain, which allowed Ukraine to partially resume cargo transportation through the Black Sea.
Umerov emphasized that the US was constantly involved in these processes, because Ukraine consulted with Washington on all key issues. Today, negotiations with Russia continue, but their focus remains exclusively on humanitarian issues.
