Russia threatened to seize Ukraine's Kharkiv and Sumy during Istanbul talks — The Economist
Photo: Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul (Getty Images)
During the talks in Istanbul, the Russian delegation threatened to seize two more regions of Ukraine - Kharkiv and Sumy, The Economist correspondent Oliver Carroll wrote on X.
"A well-placed source tells me Russia said it would agree to a ceasefire — only if Ukraine withdraws from the four 'annexed' provinces Russia doesn’t even fully control. Moscow also threatened to seize two more: Kharkiv and Sumy," he noted.
He also said that the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, threatened that Russia would fight against Ukraine no matter how long it takes.
"We don’t want war, but we’re ready to fight for a year, two, three—however long it takes. We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?" said Medinsky, according to Carrol.
Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul
Today, May 16, Ukrainian and Russian delegations held talks in Istanbul. This was the first contact between the countries in three years of full-scale war.
Earlier, Zelenskyy emphasized that during the talks, Ukraine aims to achieve a ceasefire with Russia for at least 30 days. This is necessary to continue discussing all other peace issues.
According to media reports, the meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations lasted just over an hour. They did not make any significant progress in achieving peace.
Read more about how the talks in Istanbul went in the material by RBC-Ukraine.
