The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, signed a decree on May 15, approving the composition of the Ukrainian delegation for direct negotiations with representatives of Russia in Istanbul. As the head of state reported during a press conference in Ankara after concluding talks with Turkish colleague Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the head of the Ukrainian delegation is Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Composition of the Ukrainian Delegation and Key Positions
The Ukrainian delegation includes high-ranking officials and military personnel, specifically:
- Serhiy Kyslytsia — First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine;
- Oleksandr Poklad — Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine;
- Oleh 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 Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine;
- Yevhen Shinkarov — Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Oleksandr Diakov — Deputy Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Oleksiy Malovatskyi — Head of the Department of International and Operational Law of the Central Legal Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Oleksandr Sherikhov — Senior Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff;
- Georgiy Kuzmichov — Protocol Officer of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Oleksandr Bevz — Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
As noted by the head of the Russian delegation, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky, Russia is ready to resume the negotiation process that was interrupted in 2022 and to discuss possible compromises. The Ukrainian delegation emphasizes that one of the main prerequisites for peace negotiations is the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement for at least 30 days, although such an arrangement was not discussed during previous negotiations in March 2022.
Negotiation Prospects and Ukraine’s Reaction
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his readiness to meet personally with Vladimir Putin to discuss peace; however, the Kremlin initially did not confirm Putin’s participation in the negotiations and on May 14 announced the composition of the delegation, which does not include him.