Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday called for a “strong response” from the international community if the planned talks with Russia in Istanbul fail.
“If it turns out that the Russian delegation is only there for appearances and cannot deliver any results today, then everyone must respond,” he said from Tirana.
“There must be a strong response, including sanctions,” he added, lamenting that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “afraid” to come to Turkey.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations, under Turkish mediation, began their first direct negotiations since spring 2022 on Friday in Istanbul.
But with both Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky — who was in Turkey on Thursday — and Vladimir Putin, who ordered his army to invade Ukraine on February 24, 2022, absent from the meeting, hopes for substantial progress are considered slim.
“I was in Ankara yesterday, and I was ready for a direct meeting with Putin,” Zelensky added. “But he accepted none of what I proposed. And you can see that the Russian delegation that came to Istanbul is very low-level. None of them can truly make decisions in Russia.”
“If the Russian representatives in Istanbul can’t even agree to a ceasefire, then it will be 100% clear that Putin continues to undermine diplomacy,” he said.
AFP
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