President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi on May 15 signed decree approving the composition of the Ukrainian delegation to participate in direct negotiations on May 16 with representatives of Russia in Istanbul.
At a press conference in Ankara after negotiations with the President of Turkey Recep Erdogan, the head of the Ukrainian state said that the delegation will be headed by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umyerov.
The negotiation group also included:
- Serhiy Kyslytsia, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine;
- Oleksandr Poklad, Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine;
- Oleg Luhovskyi, First Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine;
- Oleksiy Shevchenko, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine;
- Yevhen Shynkaryev, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Oleksandr Dyakov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Oleksiy Malovatskyi, head of the international and operational law department of the Central Legal Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Oleksandr Sherikhov, senior officer of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Heorhiy Kuzmichev, protocol officer of the service support apparatus of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Oleksandr Bevz, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The head of the Russian delegation, assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Volodymyr Medinsky, said on May 15 in Istanbul that the Russian side is ready to resume the negotiation process, which was interrupted in 2022, and to discuss possible compromises.
The Ukrainian delegation considers the signing of a cease-fire agreement for at least 30 days as a prerequisite for the peace process and the main topic of the negotiations in Istanbul. During the talks in Istanbul in March 2022, the issue of a ceasefire was not considered.
We will remind that on May 13, Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the need to personally participate in the negotiations with Vladimir Putin and declared that he was ready to speak with him directly. At first, the Kremlin did not confirm Putin’s participation, but on the evening of May 14, they announced the composition of the delegation, in which he is not present.
