Istanbul/Ankara.- Russia and Ukraine opened the second round of peace negotiations in Istanbul this Monday, a city that hosted the first meeting more than two weeks ago, in which an exchange of prisoners of war was agreed upon.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, was in charge of initiating the meeting, which is being held at the Ciragan Palace, a former Ottoman palace converted into a luxury hotel.“We believe we will make the most of this opportunity,” stated the head of Turkish diplomacy in his opening speech of the contacts, which he said would serve to further assess the conditions and prospects of both sides to achieve a ceasefire.
The Foreign Minister announced that the necessary preparations for a possible summit between the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will be discussed.
Thus, Fidan expressed his hope that these negotiations will be “decisive” and stated that “everyone is watching them”.
They expect concrete progress towards peace
Fidan expressed confidence that this second round of contacts will yield concrete results in achieving sustainable peace and said that having regular negotiations is essential to “build trust” between Russia and Ukraine.
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In addition, he valued as very important the “faith” that, he said, the United States has placed in these negotiations. “President (Donald) Trump’s determination to (achieve) peace has opened a new window of opportunity,” the Turkish minister said. Furthermore, he recalled that the first meeting on the 16th already had positive results such as the exchange of prisoners, and said that today they will continue to discuss that topic“Our fundamental expectation is that conversations develop productively, achieving concrete progress and reaching the desired outcome as soon as possible”
Fidan insisted on the determination of Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to support this process and highlighted that the country has strong cultural, geographical, and historical ties with Russia and Ukraine.
