Putin hints at revival of Istanbul peace talks amid Ukraine conflict
Vladimir Putin stated that the "Istanbul agreements" initialed by Ukraine in 2022 may serve as a basis for making peace. "They were not annulled; they were initialed by the head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, which means that they were apparently quite suitable for Ukraine," said Putin, as quoted by Russian agencies.
4:04 PM EDT, July 4, 2024
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Vladimir Putin thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for being willing to mediate in negotiations with Ukraine at a press conference in Astana.
He reiterated that the "Istanbul agreements" initialed by Ukraine in 2022 could serve as a basis for making peace. "They were not annulled; they were initialed by the head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, which means that they were quite suitable for Ukraine," Putin said, as quoted by Russian agencies. "These agreements remain valid and can be used as a basis for continuing negotiations," he added.
He also falsely claimed that Russia has never given up and "is now ready to continue peace talks." According to the dictator, it was Ukraine itself that refused to negotiate on the orders of the United Kingdom and the United States.
At a press conference in Astana, Putin emphasized that Russia cannot agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine as it does not know how Kyiv would react and what steps it would take in such a situation. According to the Russian leader, Ukrainians could use the truce to rebuild their army, making appropriate agreements that outline "irreversible" actions necessary.
Putin also revealed that Russia has started research and development work on new medium-range missiles and is ready to begin production, but will not deploy them in Europe unless the United States does so. According to the Russian president, Moscow would only take "mirror" actions in response to Washington's moves and would not act first.
Details of Kyiv-Moscow negotiations
Let us recall that the last negotiation teams' talks took place in Istanbul in 2022. The conclusions were called the "Istanbul agreement," although the arrangements never came into effect.
The media discussed various fragments of the document. The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs magazine indicated that the future status of the separatist regions in eastern Ukraine was not addressed at all. Their status was to be discussed in a personal meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, which never occurred.
The Istanbul Agreement of March 29, 2022, prohibited Ukraine from hosting any foreign military bases on its territory, which meant that NATO could not deploy its contingent there permanently. Lavrov explained that this relates to Vladimir Putin's demand for "demilitarization."
The Russian side maintained that the document specified exactly how many weapons and personnel Ukraine could have. Putin was to express his willingness to discuss at least the status of Crimea.
