Russia and Ukraine remain far apart after second round of talkspublished at 16:28 British Summer Time 2 June
Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Istanbul
Image source, Turkish Foreign MinistryAfter a
second round of direct talks, which lasted just over an hour in Istanbul,
Russia and Ukraine remain far apart.
Russia, again, rejected one of Ukraine’s
key demands, of an unconditional ceasefire before discussing the terms of a
long-term deal.
Ukraine
suspects Russia is not really interested in pausing the conflict and ending the
war, and the head of the country’s delegation, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov,
said the key points could only be resolved at face-to-face talks between
President Zelensky and President Putin.
He suggested that such a meeting should
happen by the end of the month.
Both sides
are under pressure from President Trump to reach a deal: Ukraine needs US
military support while Russia wants the easing of economic sanctions, and some
believe that is how Moscow is engaging in these talks, without a clear
intention of striking a truce.
Ukrainian
officials say Russia is planning a summer offensive, possibly to try to seize
more Ukrainian territory. Meanwhile, Russian officials continue to voice
demands that Ukraine have already rejected as unacceptable.
Speaking
in Lithuania, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, again, called for further
sanctions against Russia saying that unless pressure was applied, President
Putin would just play games with everyone who wanted the war to end.
