Russian delegation departs Moscow for Istanbul talks with Ukraine • FRANCE 24 English

Moscow has again downplayed expectations for a third round of peace talks with Ukraine and has still not confirmed that talks announced by Ukraine for today in Istanbul will go ahead. And after the Kremlin said the two sides are far apart in their visions of how to end the more than three-year-old conflict. Vladimir Zalinski saying only that Kee is ready to secure the release of our people from captivity and return abducted children to stop the killings and to prepare a leaders meeting. Well, we’re going to cross then to Istanbul. Talk to our correspondent Jasper Mortimer who joins us from there. Jasper, any sign then at the moment of these talks actually happening today. Yes, they are going to happen. But I understand why you’re asking the question. Look, the talks are going to be hosted by the Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan. And yesterday he told us that they would be taking place. And a few hours later, the president’s press office said they would begin at 7:00 in the Chiran Palace, which is that Ottoman palace with the light green roof behind me there on the other side of the Boserus. Now, I understand why you asked the question. You asked it if they’ll take place because there’s so much skepticism about negotiations. The two sides are so far apart that people wonder why they’re going to sit down for a third set of negotiations in three months. The Ukrainian president Zalinski has pushed for these negotiations because he sees that Russia’s President Putin is under pressure. Trump has threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russia. That’s sanctions on the countries that Russia trades with. unless Putin takes serious steps towards peace by early September. And I think Zilinski hopes that the Ukrainian delegation can exploit that pressure uh in the talks over there this evening. On the Russian side, this won’t be admitted, but I think Putin does fear secondary sanctions, and certainly Putin doesn’t want Trump to think that Russia is spurning peace efforts. So Putin will make sure there is a Russian delegation in that palace this evening. So Jaffa, assuming then that they do happen, what do you think is the best that could come out of it? Well, the Ukrainians say they want two things. One, they want an exchange, a large exchange of prisoners of war. And secondly, they want the return of the Ukrainian children that Russian forces abducted in the early weeks of the war. Now, I’m not sure that they will get any children uh out of this uh out of these negotiations. I think the most likely outcome will be similar to what we saw in the negotiations in May and June that the two sides will agree on an exchange of prisoners of war and on the return of the bodies of fallen soldiers. Jasper, thanks very much. Jes our correspondent joining us there from Istanbul.

A plane carrying a Russian delegation departed from Moscow for Turkey on July 23 to hold a third round of peace negotiations with Ukraine, Russian news agencies quoted sources as saying. France 24’s Jasper Mortimer tells us more.
#Russia #Ukraine #Turkey

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25 comments

  1. Ukraine is ready for talk and stop the ceasefire but Putin's demand of de-militarization of ukrainian army is unacceptable to Ukraine..

  2. There is nothing as such. Do your own research devoid of MSN and you would to come to the true story behind that event.

  5. Ukraine can just surrender 😅😅😅😅 or this will not stop 😅😅😅 Russia is winning they dictate the terms not the clown prince of Ukraine 🎉😅

  8. Return the bodies of dead soldiers? Is Russia just stacking up bodies? What is Ukraine doing with the dead bodies of Russians?

  22. The Kremlin Boss is just playing along by sending a delegation with NO intentions of peace until he's satisfied that he's got all that he wants…it's ALL BS that he wants you to believe he's a peace maker which is so far from the truth that it's LAUGHABLE…SLAVA UKRAINI!

  23. I’m going to make a wild guess and predict that nothing will come of this. How do I know? Because Putin is one of the players.

  24. Zelensky is threatening secondary sanctions? The amount of delusion, especially now amid anti Zelensky protests, is diabolical. We just saw a drone factory in earnest so what are u even talking about? The talks are for Ukraine to surrender, unless it wants total destruction

  25. Russia keeps thinking they are doing great it’s gonna be hilarious when Russia finally can’t hide what’s really happening with the economy anymore even Putin knows game over in a month or two

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