* Photo: Onur Çoban - İstanbul / AA
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Representatives from the delegations of Russia and Ukraine have made statements after the first round of talks at the Presidential Dolmabahçe office in İstanbul's Beşiktaş ended today (March 29).
With the first round of talks coming to an end, the delegations have left the presidential office. The second round will take place tomorrow.
Allegedly poisoned during the talks in Ukraine, oligarch Roman Abramovich was also present in the talks. The Kremlin has announced that the oligarch does not have an official role in the delegation.
Speaking to the press, Davik Arakhamia, a negotiator for Ukraine, has said that they want to see eight countries, including Turkey, as guarantor countries. Among these countries are also Britain and the US.
'Crimea is the subject of another meeting'
The delegation of Ukraine has stated that during the talks, they recommended security guarantees in the face of the neutrality status requested by Russia. It has been noted by the delegation that a 15-year consultation period for the annexed Crime is also among the offers made.
According to the statement released by the delegation of Ukraine, no agreement has yet been reached on a ceasefire. The delegation has indicated that Crimea is a separate subject of the talks.
Russia: Talks were constructive
Vladimir Medinsky from Russia's delegation has also said that the first day of the talks has been "constructive".
Medinsky has stated that a meeting to be held between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is possible if it will be simultaneously held with a peace agreement to be initiated by the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Russia's delegation has indicated that they will convey the offers and requests of Ukraine to Russia's President Putin.
'The most meaningful progress'
Following the statements of the two delegations, Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has also briefly said:
"We are glad to see that the rapprochement between the sides has been increasing at every stage. The primary issue is to ensure a ceasefire. This war has to stop now. Today, at this meeting, we see that important progress has been made. There has been an agreement and consensus on some matters. The most meaningful progress since the start of the negotiations has been made today. It is foreseen that more difficult matters will be shaped by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries".
Russia-Ukraine war and Turkey's diplomatic efforts
Earlier on February 24, explosions were reported in several Ukrainian provinces, including the capital Kyiv, after Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced a 'special military operation' in the Donbas region.
Tensions had started escalating late last year when Ukraine, the US and its allies accused Russia of amassing tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine. They claimed Russia was preparing to invade its western neighbor, which was consistently rejected by Moscow.
Defying threats of sanctions by the West, Moscow officially recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states in late February, followed by the start of a military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
President Vladimir Putin said the operation aims to protect people "subjected to genocide" by Kyiv and to "demilitarize and de-Nazify" Ukraine, while calling on the Ukrainian army to lay down its arms.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on February 24 with the invasion of Russia has drawn international condemnation, led to financial restrictions on Moscow, and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.
At least 1,151 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,842 have been injured, according to estimates by the United Nations (UN), which has cautioned that the true figure is likely far higher. More than 3.9 million Ukrainians have also fled to several European countries, with millions more displaced inside the country, according to the UN refugee agency.
CLICK - bianet news on Russia's invasion of Ukraine
As part of Turkey's diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire and permanent peace in the region, Turkey's Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu met Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Russia's capital Moscow and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Ukraine's Lviv on March 16 and 17. The three foreign ministers also held a tripartite meeting on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in southern Turkey on March 10.
Since the war broke out on February 24, 2022, President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also met Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz and Poland's President Andrzej Duda.
In a phone call on March 27, Erdoğan and Putin discussed the latest developments and negotiation process in the Russia-Ukraine war. They agreed that the next meeting of the negotiating teams of Russia and Ukraine would take place in İstanbul. Accordingly, the first round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in İstanbul on March 29. (AS/SD)
