Talks between Ukraine and Russia are continuing normally, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, but the picture is murky both in terms of progress and intentions, especially of Vladimir Putin.
According to reports, technocrats from Kiev and Moscow are drawing up a possible peace agreement, but note that whether it will be achieved depends on whether Moscow will accept Kiev’s condition for a ceasefire.
At the same time, France accuses Russia of pretending to be negotiating, and in a report published today by the Financial Times, the question arises as to whether Putin is using the ongoing peace talks with Ukraine as a pretext to save time and send reinforcements to the front.
A few minutes ago, the adviser to the Ukrainian president, Mikhail Pontolyak, called on those “NOT” in the negotiations not to spread lies in a country at war.
“Negotiations are complicated, the positions of the sides are different. “For us, fundamental issues are inviolable,” he wrote on Twitter.
I would like to softly recommend the “active commentators of the negotiation process” who are NOT inside: Do not spread your lies in a country that is at war. Negotiations are complicated. The positions of the parties are different. For us, fundamental issues are inviolable.
– Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 17, 2022
However, Alexei Reznikov, head of the Ukrainian negotiating team, said that technical work was progressing, but that Russia needed to stop bombing in order to reach a compromise.
Western officials told Reuters that it still existed big distance between the two sides in peace talks.
An official on condition of anonymity said both sides were taking the negotiation process seriously, but could not yet say there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Another official said that if anyone listened to Putin’s speech yesterday, they would rightly think that Russia was not in a position to compromise.
The Turkish side
A more optimistic note was given today by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu, who said that he sees increased hopes for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
In a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba in Lviv, Tsavousoglu said he suggested the 24-hour ceasefire be monitored by humanitarian groups.
He also said that Kyiv proposed to Turkey to become one of the third countries that would guarantee the security of Ukraine, adding that Moscow had no objection to that.
In addition, Tsavousoglou stated that Putin and Zelensky will have to meet.
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a telephone conversation he had today with Vladimir Putin, offered to host him and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for talks “in Ankara or Istanbul”, according to the Turkish presidency.
Erdogan told Putin that an agreement on these issues might require a meeting between the two leaders, adding that a lasting ceasefire could lead to a long-term solution.
Erdogan also insisted on “the need to open humanitarian corridors” to allow civilians to leave the war zones, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
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