Talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on Tuesday produced nothing “very promising“nor to any”breakthrough“, declared the Kremlin on Wednesday, dampening hopes of decisive progress in the negotiations.
Read alsoLIVE – War in Ukraine: Zelensky evokes “positive” signals after the Russian announcement of a “reduction of military activity” around kyiv
“At this time, we cannot report anything very promising or any kind of breakthrough. There’s a lot of work to doRussian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. However, he called it “positive» the fact that the Ukrainian side has «finally started to formulate its proposals in a concrete way and put them in writing“. “We carefully avoid making public statements on the meritsof the subjects being the subject of the talks, because “we believe that the negotiations must take placequietly, he added. These declarations contrast with those, much more positive, of the Russian officials who took part in the discussions which took place Tuesday in Istanbul.
“Substantial Discussions”
At the end of these talks, the head of the Russian delegation and representative of the Kremlin, Vladimir Medinski, had mentioned “substantial discussions» and says that the proposals «clearof Ukraine with a view to an agreement were going to bestudied very soon and submitted to the President” Vladimir Poutine. The Russian Deputy Minister of Defense had also affirmed that Moscow wouldradically reduce (its) military activity in the direction of kyiv and Cherniguivin the north of the country.
Read alsoPierre Lellouche: “The difficulty of a negotiated outcome on Ukraine at a time of mass emotions”
These assertions have been greeted with skepticism by Western capitals, which accuse Moscow of not really seeking a negotiated solution behind a facade of goodwill. On the ground, the governor of Ukraine’s Cherniguiv region said on Wednesday that shelling had taken place “All night long», despite the Russian promise.