They said that the Russian side put forward strict demands to Ukraine: to approve the neutral status without the presence of foreign troops or weapons of mass destruction, to abandon reparations from the Russian Federation, as well as to come to terms with the loss of Crimea and four regions that the aggressor troops partially occupied.
The Russian delegation also stated that the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin will agree to the ceasefire only if Ukraine withdraws its troops from these four regions and give them away.
The interlocutors added that the Kremlin strives to recognize the occupied Ukrainian territories by Russian at the international level.
The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine said according to the results of negotiations that the Russians demanded a number of things unacceptable to Ukraine. According to the informed interlocutor, to which the journalist The Economist Oliver Carroll referred to, the Russian delegation also threatened to seize the Kharkov or Sumy region.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky noted that Russians “do everything possible to turn this meeting in Istanbul into a staged, empty process.”
