On May 16 in Istanbul, the Russian delegation demanded negotiations with Ukraine without the participation of US representatives. This demand was made by the aggressor country Russia at the last moment before the start of the meeting.
Points of attention
- Insider reports suggest that Russian representatives' behavior aims to disrupt or undermine the peace process, casting doubt on their intentions.
- The meeting between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul marked the first in 3 years, with Turkey also joining the negotiations, underscoring the importance of the event.
Russia continues to blackmail Ukraine and the US
The journalists learned about this from their insider in the Ukrainian delegation.
An anonymous source emphasized that this behavior of Russian representatives indicates attempts to disrupt or undermine the peace process.
According to the insider, if dictator Putin's team had indeed flown to Istanbul with a real intention of resolving issues and taking steps towards peace, they would have been interested in having US representatives in the room to see it.
"Our delegation arrived with clear mandates, with a willingness to work, discuss a ceasefire, and discuss a meeting at the highest level," the interlocutor of the journalists said.
As mentioned earlier, at around 1:30 p.m. Kyiv time, a meeting of delegations of Ukraine and Russia on ending the war began in Istanbul.
It is worth noting that this happened for the first time in the last 3 years. Turkey also joined the negotiations.
Also, a few hours before, trilateral negotiations between delegations from Ukraine, the United States, and Turkey took place.
