“Ukraine’s conditions are realistic, but not fair”: what is left behind the scenes in Istanbul
24 July 15:27
ANALYSIS
On the evening of July 23, the third round of peace talks between the delegations of Ukraine and the Russian Federation took place in Istanbul.
The Ukrainian side was headed by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov. The delegation included 14 representatives. The Russian side was again represented by Presidential Advisor Vladimir Medinsky.
The talks lasted less than an hour. It is noted that a separate meeting of the heads of the delegations was held first, which was also attended by a mediator, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
On the eve of the talks, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine , Andriy Yermak, met with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ukraine’s main demands during the talks in Istanbul
During the meeting, the Ukrainian delegation voiced three key conditions:
- An immediate and unconditional ce asefire – including a halt to all shelling of both civilian objects and critical infrastructure.
- Holding a summit meeting – Kyiv insists on organizing talks between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia – Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin – with the participation of US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Ukrainian side proposes to hold this meeting by the end of August, taking into account the timeframe announced by international partners.
- Continuation of the humanitarian track – in particular, the return of all Ukrainian prisoners, including civilians and children who were illegally deported to Russia. According to Rustem Umerov, the main obstacle to the implementation of this point is the lack of political will in the Kremlin to end the war now.
“This is just a brick to the future peace”
Doctor of Sciences, Professor, Vice-Rector of the European University Sergiy Yagodzinsky in an exclusive commentary for "Komersant Ukrainian" shared his analysis of the third round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which took place on July 23 in Istanbul. The expert characterized the talks as technical and fruitless, but emphasized that even such meetings are part of a long way to end the war.
“I expected the talks to last at least two days. But they started and ended instantly. It was a technical meeting with no real expectations,”
– Yahodzinsky said.
In his opinion, the Ukrainian delegation was represented at a much more serious level than the Russian one, which indicates different approaches to the negotiation process. According to the expert, the public reaction in Ukraine was almost zero.
“Ukrainian society did not react to these negotiations at all. People are focused on internal problems – protests, crises. This shows that society does not expect a breakthrough from Russia,”
– emphasizes the professor.
The expert harshly criticized the composition of the Russian delegation, in particular the participation of Vladimir Medinsky, Putin’s advisor.
“If a person comes and starts talking about 1380, it’s nonsense. Does anyone really think that serious political decisions can be made by digging into medieval history?”
– Yagodzinsky is indignant.
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Putin is not a player in the major political league
Serhiy Yahodzinsky expressed the opinion that Vladimir Putin is not at the global level of influence, but at the regional level:
“Putin is not a world leader. He is a regional player. Russia can attack Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia, but this does not add to its global weight. It’s like the Arabic language – it’s widespread, but it’s still regional. So is Russian politics.”
According to the expert, a format of negotiations involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia will be possible only after Washington and Beijing reach a compromise:
“Trump will not talk to Putin on an equal footing until he has guarantees from China. Because it is China that can really influence the Kremlin’s behavior,” he explains,
– he explains.
Ukraine’s three conditions are realistic but not fair
Commenting on the demands of the Ukrainian side, voiced on July 23 in Istanbul, Yahodzinsky notes:
“These are a ceasefire, a meeting of leaders, and the return of prisoners, including children. All these conditions are realistic, but unfortunately, they are not fair for Ukraine.”
In his opinion, Kyiv is making significant concessions to reach a compromise, which the Russian side is not doing:
“Ukraine is ready to give up some positions temporarily. For example, the issue of Crimea does not sound acute now. It is a gesture. Instead, Moscow is demanding to give it five regions, apologize and lift sanctions. This is an ultimatum, not a negotiating position.”
In his opinion, even in the event of an obvious failure, Russian society and the economy are already adapted to the war, which makes it difficult to get out of it.
Meetings make sense even without results
When asked what could make Putin stop, Yagodzinsky answered briefly:
“Only time. We want the war to end tomorrow, but it is impossible. The war is too deep. It will continue until it exhausts itself completely.”
The professor is convinced that negotiations should take place even if they do not yield immediate results:
“Medynsky says that our positions are diametrically opposed. But this does not mean that we should not meet. Each meeting is another brick in the foundation of the future peace,”
– summarizes Yahodzinsky.
Thus, according to the expert, the peace talks are not yielding concrete results, but they are of strategic value. In a situation where the military path is running out of options, diplomacy, albeit slow and painful, remains the only way to end the war.
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