Russia signals willingness to raise delegation levels for Istanbul talks with Ukraine

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has emphasised the stalled progress in the ongoing negotiations with Ukraine, focusing particularly on the Istanbul talks.

In an interview with New Regions of Russia, published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, Galuzin expressed disappointment over Kyiv’s lack of response to Russia’s proposals made during the last meeting between the two delegations in Istanbul on July 23, Caliber.Az reports. 

Galuzin revealed that Russia had suggested forming three working groups at the Istanbul talks, addressing political, military, and humanitarian issues. However, he pointed out that more than a month had passed without any reply from Kyiv, which Russia views as indicative of an unconstructive position from the Ukrainian authorities.

Despite this, Galuzin reiterated Russia’s willingness to continue dialogue in Istanbul and showed openness to increasing the level of delegations to potentially facilitate progress.

He also criticised recent statements from Kyiv, interpreting them as attempts to undermine previous agreements reached in Alaska, and stressed that without addressing the root causes of the conflict, further agreements cannot be effectively implemented.

By Sabina Mammadli