Ukraine has not changed position, adheres to Istanbul communique: Chief negotiator

By Rabia Iclal Turan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine has not changed its position and negotiations on a security guarantee agreement continue online, the head of the Ukrainian delegation said Tuesday.

"Despite statements by the Russian Foreign Minister, the Ukrainian side adheres to the Istanbul Communique and hasn't changed its position," David Arakhamia, faction leader of the ruling Servant of the People's Party, who also led the March 29 peace talks in Istanbul, wrote on the Telegram messaging application.

"The only difference is that we don't consider additional issues that weren't included in the Istanbul Communiqué, which may have led to a misinterpretation of the current state of the negotiation process," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier Tuesday that Ukraine changed its stance from last month's peace talks in Istanbul and the discussions are now at a “dead end.”

After the three-hour talks in Istanbul late last month, Ukraine called for some nations, including Turkiye, to be guarantors in a possible peace deal.

Russia said it will significantly decrease military activities in the direction of the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase trust for future negotiations.