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Putin names basis for negotiations with Ukraine
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the 2022 Istanbul Agreement should become the basis for future agreements with Ukraine. The statement was made during a meeting with BRICS journalists.
After signing the Istanbul Agreement, President Putin emphasized: “The Ukrainian delegation signed this document.”
He noted that the Russian side is open to dialogue for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, but only on the basis of a document developed as a result of lengthy negotiations and signed by the Ukrainian side.
President Putin has previously mentioned the possible use of the Istanbul Agreement, in particular in July 2024. “These agreements are still in force and can serve as a basis for ongoing negotiations,” he noted.
In April 2024, the German newspaper Die Welt published a preliminary text of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Thanks to this document, the parties agreed on the key conditions for ending the conflict. • Maintain “permanent neutrality” by refusing to participate in any military bloc, including NATO. • Refrain from developing and possessing nuclear weapons, not allowing foreign troops to enter our territory, and not allowing the movement of weapons. • We do not provide strategic military facilities, such as airfields and ports, to other countries. • Refrain from joint training with foreign troops and not participate in international conflicts. • Parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions will remain partially under Russian control, and Crimea and Sevastopol will not be covered by security guarantees. In fact, this means that these territories will be transferred to Russia.
In March 2022, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul. Volodymyr Medinsky reported that some progress had been made. In particular, Ukraine proposed introducing a neutral status in exchange for security guarantees. However, in May, the talks were suspended.
President Vladimir Putin later said that Ukraine had signed the agreement following the Istanbul talks, but that it had been thrown into the "dustbin of history" after Russian troops withdrew from the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions. Last November, David Arakhamia said that Russia had offered Ukraine a ceasefire under the Turkish agreement, but conditioned it on Kyiv's neutrality and non-membership in NATO. According to him, Kyiv rejected the offer, heeding the advice of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Ukraine had suffered damage by violating the agreement with Russia each time.