Conversation Still “Positive”
Kremlin: no success in talks

03/30/2022, 4:30 PM

After yesterday’s meeting with the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul, Russian negotiators are initially optimistic. Moscow is now adopting a more calm tone. Putin’s spokesman Peskov says “nothing very promising” can be described. But there is “positive” progress.

According to the Kremlin, there was no “success” in the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul. “At the moment we can’t report very promising or any success,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. “There is still much to be done,” said Vladimir Putin’s spokesman.

However, Peskov described it as “positive” that the Ukrainian side “finally began to formulate its proposals in concrete terms and put them in writing”. He added: “We carefully refrain from making public statements about the essence of the issues under discussion”, because “we believe that negotiations should be conducted with care”.

These statements contrast with more positive statements made by Russian officials who participated in Tuesday’s talks in Istanbul. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, told after the meeting that “substantial talks” were taking place and that Ukraine’s “clear” proposals for a deal “will be examined and presented to the president very soon”.

The Ukrainian government also gave cautiously optimistic signs today. “I have an optimistic impression of the round of talks in Istanbul,” says Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podoliak, who is also an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.