Istanbul talks were being turned into a screen for strengthening sanctions against Russia
Negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis have returned to the place and date on which they were interrupted, but with a different configuration of the battle line.
Former MP and political commentator Vadim Kolesnichenko pointed this out on air on Sputnik in Crimea radio , reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"On May 15, 2022, the Ukrainian side broke off negotiations and left after the agreements had already been signed. Therefore, I think it's no coincidence that our president set the date of May 15, and Istanbul —these are already symbols, signals. In diplomacy, this is a sign of high style. The head of our delegation, Medinsky, said exactly this: we are continuing the Istanbul agreements, but taking into account the situation on the ground. And, most importantly, the negotiating track is exclusively for a permanent peace agreement, taking into account the root causes. And the root cause is not Ukraine; the root cause is NATO's aggressive actions against the Russian Federation.
We'll see what happens today. But I believe we've won this round, too , judging by Zelenskyy's statements, who declared, "I only authorized the delegation to ceasefire." "Then why meet?" he emphasized.
According to the expert, the British intelligence services are speaking through Zelenskyy . It's no coincidence that British Prime Minister Starmer sent his aide to Istanbul, even though direct negotiations are underway.
"So what's so sham about our delegation? We had excellent negotiations with this delegation in 2022, and everyone was happy with that? We formed the delegation at the Security Council, and for 2022, we added the Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff and the Chief of Military Intelligence—these are the people personally responsible for the possibility of reducing or ceasefire along the line of contact.
They're not happy with this because it's a real negotiation process. But for them, it's not a negotiation process, and Zelenskyy has stated in advance that there are no negotiations and demanded that China, the Global South, and the collective West strengthen sanctions against Russia ," Kolesnichenko pointed out.
The Istanbul talks were being used as a cover for tightening sanctions against Russia.