Zelenskyy changes composition of delegation for talks with Russia in Istanbul
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved the composition of Ukraine's delegation for the talks with Russia in Istanbul, expanding it to 14 members, whereas the first round of negotiations involved 12 delegates.
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.
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