Russia not satisfied with Türkiye’s role in talks, says Zelenskyy
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
The Russian delegation was dissatisfied with Türkiye’s mediation in the negotiations. Their hostility only grew after the format of the speeches was changed, according to a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"To be honest, they’re not very happy with Türkiye’s mediation. How did it happen? With Turkish mediation, our first meeting in Istanbul was... First of all, they excluded the Americans, so at the second meeting in Istanbul, there was no strong US presence. If you compare who came from America that time and who represented them now — no one. That’s the truth," Zelenskyy noted.
He explained that initially, everyone had a constructive attitude, but then they saw what the Russians were doing.
"Then... Türkiye gave the floor to the Russian side at the first meeting in Istanbul. I have no complaints. And the Russians began a long historical lecture — all the way back to Peter the Great — in their usual style, wasting time just to say they were negotiating and here’s your exchange. Okay, everyone went through that," the president said.
At the same time, he mentioned that during the second meeting, the Turkish side gave the floor to the Ukrainian delegation first.
"At the second meeting, the Turkish side gave us the floor first, and we got down to specifics, to the agenda. Then the Russians again tried to drag everyone into a historical digression. But what’s important to know is this: according to our information, the Russians are very unhappy with Türkiye’s behavior. You see, emperors and gods," the president concluded.
Russia's memorandum
This Monday, June 2, the second round of negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in Istanbul.
According to an RBC-Ukraine source, Russia, through Türkiye’s mediation, handed Ukraine its own memorandum outlining Moscow’s position on the terms for peace and a possible ceasefire.
US officials expressed disappointment regarding the proposed terms of the truce. According to ABC News, anonymous sources indicated that fulfilling such demands is unrealistic.
Earlier today, the Ukrainian president discussed several points of the document and emphasized that the very first item in Russia’s memorandum is an ultimatum.
Overall, Zelenskyy rejected Russia’s memorandum, describing it as political spam and PR aimed at a domestic audience.
