Russia declares itself ready to continue negotiations with Ukraine in the Istanbul format. Making statements for the Russian media, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Galuzin, said that all necessary conditions for organizing negotiations exist and that Moscow is open to direct discussions with Ukraine, according to RBC Ukraine.
Mikhail Galuzin claimed that the main problem would be “the lack of political will in Kiev” and that Ukraine would avoid dialogue in the hope of “achieving peace by force”.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine have had three rounds of negotiations in Istanbul – in May, June, and July of this year, the main result being the agreement on the exchange of prisoners. The parties did not reach an agreement on a peace ceasefire, the positions of the two sides remaining very distant.
Ukraine has expressed its readiness for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of peace along the entire front line. Meanwhile, Moscow has asked Kiev to withdraw Ukrainian troops from four claimed regions: Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson, and Luhansk, the suspension of military and financial assistance from Western countries, as well as organizing elections.
We remind that the peace talks, which were to be held by US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, in Budapest, were canceled by the US after a tense conversation between the heads of diplomacy of the two countries.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, informed Trump that Moscow does not show signs of real readiness for negotiations. Moscow remained firm on its demands, including that Ukraine should cede more territory as a condition for a ceasefire.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that, although Ukraine wants peace talks, it will not withdraw its troops from the territories demanded by Moscow.