The second round of talks between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine is to take place today, on Monday, June 2 in Istanbul. The previous round of negotiations took place on May 16. Russia then sent a delegation to Turkey to Turkey an extremely low level – under the leadership of one of the advisers of Vladimir Putin.
Negotiations in Istanbul. Wołodymyr Zelanski with doubts
– At the moment, in parallel, our team is in Istanbul. I talked to my defense minister (Rustam's Umperm) early in the morning, so they are preparing for a meeting – said the Ukrainian president, who participates in Vilnius in the meeting, among others leaders of the Eastern Flanka NATO countries.
“I'm not sure if the Russians will be ready for a productive meeting, but we should always count on some solutions,” he said.
Wołodymyr Zelanski emphasized that it is very important for Ukraine “unconditional suspension of weapons, as well as humanitarian issues regarding the return of abducted children (…) and doing everything for other prisoners, civil prisoners and journalists, political prisoners.” He emphasized the importance of bringing them all home.
Summit in Vilnius
The peak in Vilnius, hosted by the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda, takes place at the Vilnius Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. The meeting will be attended by leaders from the Baltic countries – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Nordic – Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, as well as the Bucharest nine, i.e. the initiative connecting the Eastern Flank of the NATO. In addition to the Baltic and Polish countries, these are: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
Poland is represented by President Andrzej Duda, who together with his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda came to Vilnius on Sunday evening.
In the capital of Lithuania there is also the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Mark Rutte.
The meeting in Vilnius is a form of preparation to the upcoming NATO summit, scheduled for the last week of June in Hague. The most important topics of conversation will be strengthening the safety and defense of the NATO eastern flank, as well as further support of Ukraine defending against Russia.
