Peace talks in Istanbul: New ideas, old problems

After the second round of peace talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul, nothing indicates a quick cessation of hostilities.

After the meeting, the Ukrainian negotiators stated that they proposed a new system that would guarantee that what was eventually agreed upon would be respected. One of the main guarantors of that future agreement between Ukraine and Russia would be Turkey, and Israel, Poland, Canada, and other permanent members of the UN Security Council, the USA, France and Great Britain, are also mentioned. The guarantees, as provided for in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, would include the military defense of Ukraine in the event of a new Russian aggression.

This should be followed by a multilateral conference, and the condition for all of that is a complete cessation of hostilities throughout Ukraine.

Ukrainians would only agree to neutral status, which the Kremlin demands, with international guarantees. This would mean that there would be no international military bases on Ukrainian territory.

Neither delegation provided details on the eventual withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

All of this should again be preceded by a referendum on a possible agreement between Koyev and Moscow, and the precondition for that is peace and the return of several million Ukrainians to the country.

As for Crimea, it was offered to Ukraine, but its status is being negotiated for the next 15 years.

As far as the Ukrainians are concerned, the meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Vladimir Putin has been created.

Previously, Kiev's "red lines" were for the Russians to give up their occupation of Donbass and withdraw all troops from Ukrainian territory.

The Russian delegation announced that it will consider the Ukrainian proposals.

Bombing during negotiations

Moscow has said that it will significantly reduce military activities in the vicinity of Kiev and Chernivtsi in order to "gain trust" and enable dialogue. American military analysts, however, say that Russia is reducing the intensity of combat operations in the vicinity of Kiev only because it has not made any progress and has realized that it cannot break the resistance of the Ukrainians there.

The strategically important city of Chernivtsi, about 150 kilometers north of Kiev on the border with Belarus, has been exposed to fierce Russian attacks in recent weeks.

Around the time of the negotiations in Istanbul, the Russian army shelled Mykolaiv in the south of Urayina between Odessa and Kherson and hit the building of the regional administration. President Zelenski stated that at least 7 people were killed and 22 injured.

"They hit my office, you sons of bitches," Governor Vitaly Kim wrote on Telegram after the attack, and posted photos and videos of the attack showing the building almost cut in half. A hundred of his associates managed to save themselves.

JH/CNN/Spiegel

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