The meeting of the leaders of Russia and Ukraine Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky may take place in Istanbul. This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after Friday prayers.
“Yesterday I had talks with Mr. Zelensky, today around 16:00 we will have talks with Putin. As a result of preliminary consultations, we can now meet with leaders at the highest level to take steps at the leadership level, especially regarding Crimea and Donbass, Zelensky has a positive opinion, and I hope Putin has a positive opinion, and if we manage to have a summit in Istanbul so that they decide to turn a negative trend into a positive one, “Then we will be very happy,” Erdogan.
Earlier, the head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, said that Russia and Ukraine continue negotiations via video link, while Moscow’s position on Crimea and Donbass remains unchanged. Earlier, on March 29, Istanbul hosted the first round of face-to-face talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in more than three weeks.
The Russian side assessed the results of this round as “positive progress.” According to Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation, Kyiv’s written proposals presented at the meeting contain provisions on Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO and nuclear weapons, as well as to consolidate the country’s non-bloc status.
Earlier, the press secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov did not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, but noted that it should be ready for the results.