Zelenskyy changes composition of delegation for talks with Russia in Istanbul
Source: Zelenskyy in a decree
Details: The delegation is again led by Defence Minister Rustem Umierov.
The following officials have also been included in the delegation:
Oleksandr Bevz, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President
Oleksandr Diakov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Serhii Kyslytsia, First Deputy Foreign Minister
Yurii Kovbasa, representative of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights in the security and defence sector (by consent)
Heorhii Kuzmychov, protocol officer of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Oleh Luhovskyi, First Deputy Head of Foreign Intelligence Service
Yevhenii Ostrianskyi, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Oleksandr Poklad, Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine
Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine
Andrii Fomin, Head of the International Law Division, Deputy Head of the Department of International and Operational Law, Central Legal Directorate of the General Staff
Oleksii Shevchenko, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Oleksandr Sherikhov, senior officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff
Yevhen Shynkarov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force Command
Oleksii Malovatskyi, who participated in the negotiations on 16 May, is not included in the current delegation. Meanwhile, three officials who were not part of the 16 May meeting – Fomin, Kovbasa and Ostrianskyi – have been added.
Background:
On the afternoon of Sunday 1 June, Zelenskyy announced that the Ukrainian delegation, led by Defence Minister Rustem Umierov, would travel to Istanbul for negotiations with Russia.
Russian news agencies reported that their delegation had departed for Türkiye.
Sources told Turkish news agency Anadolu that the meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations is scheduled to take place at 13:00 in the Çırağan Palace, a five-star hotel in Istanbul.
On 28 May, it emerged that Umierov had handed Russia a document outlining Ukraine's position and was awaiting their "memorandum" in response.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on what conditions Russia will put forward in its draft memorandum for a ceasefire, saying that this should be discussed privately. On 30 May, Peskov said that the Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on Monday morning for peace talks with Ukraine and will show its memorandum there.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Russia's reluctance to officially submit its memorandum for negotiations suggests the document contains unrealistic demands and represents an attempt to stall the peace process.
It was previously reported that the Russian delegation set to attend the new round of peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on 2 June would be the same group that participated in the previous meeting, which Zelenskyy criticised for its low level.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Banks brace for key UK Supreme Court ruling on car finance commissions
LONDON (Reuters) -The UK's Supreme Court will announce a long-awaited ruling on car finance commissions on Friday that could influence whether major banks face a multibillion-pound compensation bill. British lender Close Brothers and South Africa's FirstRand want to overturn a landmark Court of Appeal judgment which said brokers must have fully informed consent from customers in order to receive a commission from lenders. The ruling in three linked cases sent shockwaves through the 40 billion-pound ($53 billion) a year motor finance industry and has weighed heavily on the stocks of the most exposed players, such as Close Brothers and Lloyds. Lloyds has set aside 1.15 billion pounds for potential payouts, while Banco Santander's UK arm has set aside 290 million pounds and Barclays 95 million pounds. The Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates the sector, is mulling a redress scheme that analysts have warned could end up costing the banking industry tens of billions of pounds. The FCA has said it will confirm whether it will implement a redress scheme within six weeks of the Supreme Court's ruling. The Court of Appeal said in October 2024 that lenders are liable to consumers when the commission is "secret", and can be liable when disclosure of the commission is insufficient to obtain informed consent. Lawyers for the FCA argued at April's Supreme Court appeal that the Court of Appeal went "too far", boosting lenders' hopes that any hit they face may be pared back. The potential wider impact of the case was highlighted by media reports that British finance minister Rachel Reeves might legislate to prevent lenders from taking a financial hit, which in turn could hurt her attempts to boost economic growth. The Treasury did not respond to a request for comment. The Supreme Court will give its ruling after 1535 GMT on Friday, once financial markets have closed in London. The court said: "No inference should be drawn from the timing of the hand-down (of the judgment) as to the outcome of the appeals." ($1 = 0.7567 pounds) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Universities ‘on notice' they could face penalties over free speech
Universities have been put 'on notice' that they could face penalties if they fail to uphold free speech, the education minister said as new protections for academic freedom came into force. Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith has said the Government will 'not tolerate the silencing of academics or students who voice legitimate views'. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which comes into force on Friday, will require universities and colleges in England to promote academic freedom to ensure discussions can take place on campuses without fear of censorship of students, staff or speakers expressing lawful opinions. It also bans universities from using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct. The Office for Students (OfS), England's higher education regulator, can investigate universities and colleges and impose fines if it has found they have failed to protect free speech rights. In March, the OfS issued a record penalty of £585,000 to the University of Sussex after a three-and-a-half year probe into the resignation of academic Professor Kathleen Stock. The OfS's investigation found the institution's trans and non-binary equality policy statement had 'a chilling effect' of possible self-censorship of students and staff on campus. It was launched after high-profile protests called for the dismissal of Prof Stock in 2021 over her views on gender identity. Professor Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the OfS, previously suggested universities could face higher fines in the future if they fail to uphold free speech. Baroness Smith said: 'Academic freedom is non-negotiable in our world-leading institutions, and we will not tolerate the silencing of academics or students who voice legitimate views. 'These strengthened protections make this explicitly clear in law, and the record fine already handed down by the OfS has put universities on notice that they must comply or face the consequences. 'Through our Plan for Change we are restoring our world class universities as engines of growth, opportunity and innovation, and fostering a culture of free inquiry and academic freedom is at the heart of that.' In January, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced the Government would be pushing ahead with key measures in the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. But she announced the 'statutory tort' – which could have allowed individuals to bring legal proceedings against universities that failed to comply with freedom of speech duties – would be removed from the legislation. Ms Phillipson said the tort would create 'costly litigation that would risk diverting resources away from students'. The implementation of legislation, passed under the previous Conservative government in 2023, was paused by Labour in July last year after the general election due to concerns it could be 'burdensome' for universities. A new OfS complaints scheme will allow academics, external speakers and university staff to raise concerns about restrictions on their lawful free speech, which could lead to fines if their free speech is not protected. Students will be able to make complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. Prof Ahmed said: 'Free speech and academic freedom are fundamental to the quality of students' education and their experience in higher education. 'From today universities and colleges take on new legal duties to secure and promote freedom of speech and academic freedom. 'The OfS's regulatory requirements to prevent and address harassment and sexual misconduct are also fully in place. 'These are an important set of measures which will further protect students from harassment while ensuring that students and academics are free to discuss controversial views, including those which some might find shocking or offensive.'
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
British steelmakers boosted by change to EU tariffs
British steelmakers will be able to sell more to the EU tariff-free from Friday in a boost for the beleaguered sector. The EU has agreed to more than double the UK's tariff-free quota for certain steel products in a move the Government described as a 'direct win' from Sir Keir Starmer's deal with the bloc earlier this year. At May's UK-EU summit, Sir Keir and European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen agreed to restore Britain's steel quotas to historic levels after they were slashed in March. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the announcement was 'yet another positive step forward for the UK steel sector' that would give producers 'certainty'. The agreement comes at a difficult time for the industry, which continues to face 25% tariffs on exports to the US. An agreement with President Donald Trump to effectively reduce those tariffs to zero is yet to come into effect, but Britain has been protected from the 50% tariff Mr Trump imposed on steel from the rest of the world last month. UK Steel director general Gareth Stace said Friday's change was 'excellent news' for the sector that had been 'plagued by problems' in exporting steel to the EU. He added: 'The quota will restore historic trade flows and is good news for both UK steelmakers and their EU customers.' The decision means the UK can export 27,000 tonnes of 'category 17' steel – which includes angles and sections of steel – to the EU each quarter without paying tariffs. The figure had been cut to 10,000 tonnes after the EU introduced a cap intended to prevent a single exporter dominating the market. In total, the UK exports around 2.4 million tonnes of steel to the EU, worth nearly £3 billion and accounting for 75% of British steel exports. Ministers expect the change to help protect jobs in the industry, which has been a priority for the Labour Government since coming to power. In April, the Government used an almost unprecedented weekend recall of Parliament to take control of British Steel to prevent the shutdown of its blast furnaces and maintain the UK's primary steel-making capacity. British Steel's interim chief operating officer Lisa Coulson said: 'The removal of EU tariffs on British-made steel is a significant boost to our business. 'The EU is an important market to us, particularly for the products our highly skilled colleagues manufacture in Scunthorpe, Teesside, and Skinningrove.' But Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith described the quota as 'tiny' and 'embarrassing from a Government which has nothing to show on removing the US tariffs on steel which the PM claimed to have delivered back in May'. He added: 'It's a paltry return for giving up 12 years of fishing rights and tying the energy costs of every business to a higher cost EU emissions regime over which the UK will have no say. 'When Labour nationalised British Steel we said they had no plan. This government by press release shows we were right.'
