Sybiha on meeting with Russia in Istanbul: Ukraine insists on a truce and is ready for negotiations
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine is ready to continue negotiations with Russia, expecting a constructive dialogue and a mandate to resolve important issues. A meeting at the level of leaders involving Zelenskyy, Putin, Trump, European leaders, and Erdogan is proposed.
Ukraine is ready to continue negotiations with Russia, but expects a constructive dialogue and anticipates that the Russian delegation will have a mandate to resolve truly important issues. In this context, Ukraine proposes to hold a meeting at the leadership level with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US leader Donald Trump, European leaders, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha during a joint press conference with French Minister for European and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, as reported by UNN correspondent.
Details
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a meeting with Russia on Wednesday. So, in response to a journalist's question whether the Foreign Minister believes that the Russian side might arrive on Wednesday with a proposal to cancel the demands of its memorandum, Sybiha replied: "We strive to achieve justice and solidarity. Two rounds have taken place, meetings in Istanbul. We reached agreements on the return of prisoners and the return of children. Therefore, for these reasons – this process is important and has a right to exist."
Regarding its continuation, as Sybiha noted, President Zelenskyy emphasized that "we are ready," Ukraine is not an obstacle in the negotiation process.
We insist on a truce. It is very important... that the other side has a mandate to discuss important issues: ending the war, achieving a truce. So far, we do not see this. Therefore, we had a proposal that we could discuss such strategic issues – to hold a meeting at the Zelenskyy-Putin level with the participation of President Trump, European leaders, President Erdoğan, and we believe that such meetings will positively affect the further dynamics of the negotiation process.
Earlier, UNN wrote that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that a meeting with the Russian side in Turkey is planned for Wednesday. Rustem Umerov reported on the preparation of the exchange and this meeting.