CONSTANTINOPLE:
Russia and Ukraine launched a new round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, but the Kremlin has hit any expectations for a major discovery after three and a half years of war.
“Our goal is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as he opened a meeting between the two delegations.
“The ultimate goal is a ceasefire that will pave the way for peace,” Fidan said.
The two sides first met in the Turkish city in May and June, but managed to agree only on exchanges of prisoners and soldiers.
US President Donald Trump last week gave Russia 50 days to end the war or face sanctions, but the Kremlin has not stated that it is willing to compromise.
“No one is waiting for an easy way, it will be very difficult,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about his expectations of talks.
Ukraine has said it hopes that the two countries would discuss the release of prisoners and put the ground for a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“Everything will depend on whether Russia stops talking in ceremonies and takes a constructive position,” a source in the Ukrainian delegation at AFP said.
“This will determine if the results can be achieved in this meeting.”
But Moscow has said that a lot of work is needed before discussions about possible talks between Putin and Zelensky, who met last in 2019.
The two sides have radically different positions for ending the conflict.
Russia called on Ukraine to recessively retreat from the four Ukrainian regions of Moscow that it claims to have been annexed in September 2022, a requirement that Kiev has called unacceptable.
Ukraine has ruled out any negotiations on territory only after a ceasefire and says it will never recognize Russia’s claims for occupied territory – including Crimea, attached to Moscow in 2014.
Russia’s complete invasion, launched in February 2022, has been destroyed by East and Southern Ukraine, killing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Ukraine has said that former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is currently serving as Secretary of the Security Council, will run his delegation.
The Kremlin said he would send political scientist Vladimir Medinsky to lead his negotiating team.
Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation to the two previous rounds of negotiation, is not considered a strong decision -making. Ukraine has highlighted a puppet.
In the latest talks on May 16 and June 2, the two sides agreed to large exchanges of prisoners.
They also exchanged their plan to end the conflict, which the Kremlin stated that they were “diametrically opposed”.
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