Ukrainian negotiator David Arahamia said on Thursday that the talks would continue via video, focusing on the peace deal presented by the Ukrainian side during a face-to-face meeting in Istanbul this week, which Moscow described as constructive. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Moscow will not refuse a separate meeting between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba, provided that the talks between them were “substantial”. However, Kyiv and its allies have questioned Russia’s commitment to the talks, saying there was no real sign of a partial military withdrawal in northern Ukraine, promising a gesture of goodwill and suggesting the Kremlin could play with time. Russian President Vladimir Putin has further increased the diplomatic stance by signing a decree requiring foreign buyers to pay in rubles for Russian gas from Friday or to see their energy contracts terminated – a demand that was immediately lifted. from Germany, France and the United Kingdom and described by Berlin. as blackmail. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu has said that Turkey’s goal is to bring Lavrov and Kuleba closer for further talks. “There could be a higher-level meeting, at least at the level of foreign ministers, in a week or two,” he said. “What matters is that the two sides meet and agree on a lasting ceasefire,” Tsavousoglu said, adding that “significant progress” had been made, but acknowledged that some might have made “regular maneuvers” and little had changed. terrain. Arahamia praised the role of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in the peace talks, saying he had initially acted as an “informal back communication channel” and was now trying to act more as a neutral mediator between the two sides. Cavusoglu also said that the former owner of the Chelsea football club was “playing a useful role”, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Abramovich clearly had confidence in Putin and was “sincerely trying to persuade” him. However, the Kremlin has already rejected some key elements of Ukraine’s peace proposals, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday that Putin had told him by telephone that “the conditions for a ceasefire have not yet matured.” “In Putin’s view, there have been some small steps forward in the negotiations,” Draghi said. “We all want to see a ray of light. There is a desire to move forward soon, but it is also too early to overcome skepticism.” Western analysts and diplomats, including in the United States and the United Kingdom, have said the Kremlin could use the de-escalation talks as a ploy to regroup and resupply its forces to redeploy them for a more aggressive attack in eastern Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that information from the alliance showed that Moscow was not restricting military operations in the north but was redeploying forces to take part in the attacks in the disputed eastern Donbass region. by pro-Russian separatists. Ukraine: before and after the war – video Kiev chief negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak, however, insisted that the Kremlin was considering Ukraine’s proposals, which include an international treaty under which the country would remain neutral with its security guaranteed by third countries. The proposals – which will take effect only in the event of a complete ceasefire – also include a 15-year consultation period on the status of the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine and annexed in 2014. Podolyak said a draft agreement could be signed in the coming days, paving the way for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Putin. Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, also hinted that progress seemed possible. In speeches to the Dutch and Australian parliaments, meanwhile, Zelensky called for more arms and assistance and a complete halt to trade with Russia on Thursday, warning that failure to stop Moscow’s aggression would encourage others to follow suit. their example. “Stronger sanctions are needed so that Russia does not have the opportunity to continue this war in Europe,” the Ukrainian president told Dutch lawmakers via video link. “Stop all trade with Russia.” “Energy imports from Russia must stop” so that you do not have to pay billions for the war, “he added. Referring to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, Zelensky also called for justice. “Those who gave the orders to bomb and bomb Ukraine must be held accountable. “In The Hague, the city of courts, people know that,” he said. In the Australian Parliament, Zelensky said Russia must be held accountable. “If we do not stop Russia now, if we do not hold Russia accountable, then some other countries in the world will decide that such things are possible for them as well,” he said. The Ukrainian leader reiterated his call for tougher sanctions, accusing Moscow of “nuclear blackmail” to limit the global response to the invasion, which has led Russia to cut much of its international trade through unprecedented sanctions. The European Development Bank (EBRD) said on Thursday it expects the Russian economy to shrink by 10% this year and Ukraine by 20%, calling the war between the two countries “the biggest supply shock” in 50 years. Additional report by Angela Giuffrida in Rome
