Next round of talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Turkey

Alyona Mazurenko – Sunday, 27 March 2022, 17:55

The next round of negotiations between the official delegations of Ukraine and Russia will take place in Turkey on 28-30 March.

Source: David Arakhamiya, delegate from Ukraine and head of the Servant of the People Party [President Zelenskyy’s party], on Facebook

According to Arakhamiya: "Today [on 27 March] during another round of video talks we have agreed to have another – live – round of talks between the two delegations in Turkey on 28-30 March."

Details: Arakhamiya promised to report details later.

Ukrainska Pravda sources note that the exact location of the talks is currently being agreed.

Vladimir Medinskiy, representative of the Russian delegation, stated that the meeting will take place 29-30 March.

Earlier: Several days ago President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey said that Ukraine was ready to grant four of Russia’s six demands, in particular renouncing potential NATO membership and recognising Russian as the second official state language.

In response, Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said that no consensus with Russia has been reached with regard to the four points mentioned by Turkey’s president.

Significance: Erdogan has on numerous occasions stated that he would like to mediate the negotiations between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, Turkey often reiterates the Kremlin’s narratives.

Despite its NATO membership, Turkey is trying to maintain a partnership with Russia in order to balance its strategic security interests in the Black Sea and in the Caucasus, particularly in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Background:

• As of 27 March, Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine is in its 32nd day. Russian troops have suffered significant losses both in terms of machinery and equipment, and in terms of personnel, 17,000 of whom have been killed.
• Russian airstrikes are destroying Ukrainian cities. Ukraine is calling for the world to close the sky over its territory, or to supply planes, tanks, and air defence systems to protect the country from Russian bombs.
• As of 27 March, no country or alliance in the world has given or sold this equipment to Ukraine.
• Negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine have been ongoing since the first days of the war. So far, the two sides have only managed to agree on certain humanitarian corridors out of blockaded or occupied cities. Russians often break these agreements and shell evacuation convoys or confiscate humanitarian aid.
• In the beginning of the war, Russia declared that the goal of its so-called "special operation" is the recognition of Crimea and Donbas as Russian, the recognition of Russian as the second official state language in Ukraine, Ukraine’s neutral – non-aligned – status, and the so-called "denazification" and "demilitarisation" of Ukraine.
• Ukrainian polls indicate that the citizens of Ukraine are not ready to make concessions to Russia and will not under any circumstances recognise the occupation of Crimea and Donbas.