A source from the Turkish presidency told ‘Sputnik’, when asked about the possibility of another round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations this month: ‘No, there are no indications so far.’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov mentioned last Friday that the Kyiv regime agreed to Russia’s proposal to resume Istanbul negotiations thanks to Trump’s insistence. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported Lavrov’s statements, adding that ‘the substantive discussion on the Ukrainian issue between Moscow and Washington, ongoing since the beginning of the year, is extremely useful and yields results.’
Lavrov pointed out that ‘the resumption of direct dialogue by the current U.S. administration aligns perfectly with usual diplomatic practices, and abandoning them during Joe Biden’s tenure (the former U.S. president) was against common sense. The substantive discussion on the Ukrainian issue between Moscow and Washington, ongoing since the beginning of the year, is extremely useful and yields results. Thanks to President Donald Trump’s insistence, the Kyiv regime agreed to our proposal to resume negotiations in Istanbul.’
The Russian Foreign Minister noted that ‘three rounds (of negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul) have already been held. In addition to important humanitarian agreements, we proposed forming working groups concerning political and military issues, which would represent a significant step towards reaching sustainable agreements, as emphasized by Russian President Vladimir Putin, specifically on August 1st, during his meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on the ‘Valam’ channel. We are waiting for a concrete response from Kyiv.’
At the same time, Lavrov noted that ‘so far, only contradictory statements from Vladimir Zelensky have been issued from Kyiv.’
