Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Georgiy Tikhiy, commented on the statements made by representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry regarding a possible willingness to engage in direct negotiations with Kyiv. According to him, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly participated in meetings in Istanbul over the past year; however, the Russian Federation sent delegations that lacked real authority to make decisions.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Details of the Negotiations in Istanbul
Tikhiy emphasized that the Russian representatives who participated in the negotiations were of “low level” and merely repeated the same ultimatums, showing no genuine desire to seek a peaceful resolution. He stressed that this indicates the unwillingness of the Russian leadership to end the war.
“Unfortunately, they encountered a group of low-level individuals who put forth the same old ultimatums and have no authority to make decisions. The reason is simple: Putin is not seeking peace; he is looking for ways to continue the war,” he stated.
Ukraine’s Position on Negotiations with Russia
Georgiy Tikhiy also addressed the Russian diplomatic agency, urging it to convey to the Russian leadership the demand to end the war. According to him, only after this will a meeting of the leaders to discuss a real ceasefire become possible.
Meanwhile, earlier, Russian media reported a statement from the Deputy Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mikhail Galuzin, who claimed that Moscow was allegedly ready to continue negotiations, blaming Kyiv for the lack of political will.
The last meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul took place on June 2. Following this meeting, the parties agreed to conduct new prisoner exchanges. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasized on June 10 that it is still too early to talk about organizing a new round of negotiations with Russia in Istanbul.