Latest news with #VladimirMedinsky
Economist
5 days ago
- Politics
- Economist
Vladimir Medinsky, Putin's negotiator with a warped worldview
WITH A WIRY frame, wispy grey hair and rimless spectacles, Vladimir Medinsky cuts an unassuming figure. Yet he is leading Russia's delegation at so-far fruitless peace talks with Ukraine, the third round of which took place in Istanbul on July 23rd. Mr Medinsky has served as an aide to Vladimir Putin since 2020. Now he is acting as a mouthpiece for Russia's president: his job at the negotiating table is less about ending the fighting than pursuing his boss's war aims. More than three years into the conflict, and despite a million Russian casualties, those still amount to making Ukraine a country under Russia's thumb.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Russia and Ukraine trade drone attacks after latest ceasefire talks
Drone strikes by both Moscow and Kyiv killed two in Russia and three in Ukraine, hours after a brief third round of ceasefire talks concluded in people were found dead in the rubble of a house after a strike in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region and several people were wounded in the cities of Cherkasy and Zaporizhzhia. The famous Pryvoz market - a Unesco world heritage site in the Black Sea port city of Odesa - was also hit and several fires broke out across the city following an overnight attack, authorities Russian authorities said two people were killed and 11 injured in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike on Sochi, in Russia's Krasnodar region. Another Russian attack on the Ukrainian city Kharkiv on Thursday morning also left 33 and Russian delegations met on Wednesday evening in Istanbul in the third round of ceasefire side appeared to harbour much hope for progress before start of the talks, which according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation lasted barely an head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said both countries agreed to swap 1,200 prisoners of war and that Russia had offered to transfer 3,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers back to no tangible steps were taken to end the conflict, now well into its fourth year, and both sides accused the other of rejecting their ideas."We did not expect a breakthrough. A breakthrough is hardly possible," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on of the meeting the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, said the "priority" for Kyiv was to organise a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before the end of August. But Peskov poured cold water on the idea, saying it was "premature" for the two presidents to meet. "They [Ukraine] are trying to put the cart slightly ahead of the horse," he said, adding much more work had to be done before any such meeting could take MP Oleksiy Hocharenko said on Facebook that a separate meeting between Umerov and Medinsky had taken place behind closed doors on the sidelines of the main said Umerov and Medinsky have a "good relationship".The first two rounds of ceasefire talks were held in May and June at the request of US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he wants to see the end of the "horrible, bloody war" that was sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in this month Trump set a deadline of 50 days for Russia and Ukraine to end the war, threatening "severe tariffs" on Moscow if a deal is not has long refused to budge on its preconditions for peace - namely the removal of the "root causes" of the war, which include Ukraine becoming a neutral state, dramatically reducing its military and abandoning its Nato of these are acceptable to Kyiv, or to its Western allies."We will do everything to make diplomacy work," Zelensky said on social media on Thursday after the talks. "But it is Russia that must end this war that it started itself."
Barnama
6 days ago
- Politics
- Barnama
Russia, Ukraine Hold New Prisoner Exchange Under Istanbul Agreements
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) shout slogans as they pose for a picture after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine June 26, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS MOSCOWJuly 24 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Russia announced on Wednesday that, under agreements reached in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine had held another round of prisoner-of-war exchanges, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. "A group of Russian servicemen" was returned from Ukraine, said the country's Defence Ministry, without specifying the number. "On July 23, in accordance with Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on June 2 in Istanbul, a group of Russian servicemen was returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoners was transferred," the ministry said. bootstrap slideshow The ministry said that the returned Russian military personnel are currently in the territory of neighbouring Belarus, where they are receiving necessary psychological and medical assistance. "All Russian servicemen will be transported to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation at medical facilities of the Russian Defence Ministry," it said. In exchange, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war was returned to Kyiv, it said. Separately, speaking at a news conference in Istanbul following the third round of the countries' peace talks, Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said some 250 people from each side were exchanged. "Currently, on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, the final batches of prisoners of war, amounting to approximately 250 persons per side, are being exchanged. Thus, the second unprecedented large-scale exchange of roughly 1,200 individuals has been completed," he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the exchange, noting that more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been returned home as a result of the humanitarian moves.
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Russia, Ukraine begin talks in Istanbul
Russia's presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky speaks next to members of the Russian delegation in Istanbul. Photo: REUTERS Russia and Ukraine began a fresh round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday but the Kremlin played down any expectations of a breakthrough after three and a half years of war. "Our aim is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said as he opened a meeting between the two delegations. "The ultimate goal is a ceasefire that will pave the way for peace," Fidan said. The two sides previously met in the Turkish city in May and June, but managed to agree only on exchanges of prisoners and soldiers' bodies. US President Donald Trump last week gave Russia 50 days to end the war or face sanctions, but the Kremlin has not indicated it is willing to compromise. "No one expects an easy road. It will be very difficult," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about his expectations for the talks. Ukraine said it hoped the two countries would discuss the release of prisoners and lay the ground for a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. "Everything will depend on whether Russia stops speaking in ultimatums and takes a constructive position," a source in the Ukrainian delegation told AFP. "This will determine whether results can be achieved at this meeting." But Moscow has said a lot of work is needed before even discussions can take place about possible talks between Putin and Zelensky, who last met in 2019. The two sides have radically different positions for ending the conflict. Russia has called on Ukraine to effectively retreat from the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed in September 2022, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable. Ukraine has ruled out any negotiations on territory until after a ceasefire and says it will never recognise Russia's claims over occupied territory -- including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. Russia's full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Ukraine said former defence minister Rustem Umerov, who currently serves as security council secretary, would head its delegation. The Kremlin said it would send political scientist Vladimir Medinsky to lead its negotiating team. Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation in the two previous rounds of negotiation, is not seen as a powerful decision maker. Ukraine has labelled him a puppet. At the last talks on May 16 and June 2, the two sides agreed to large-scale prisoner exchanges. They also exchanged their draft terms for ending the conflict, which the Kremlin said were "diametrically opposed".
Malaysia Sun
7 days ago
- Politics
- Malaysia Sun
Daily World Briefing, July 24
Access to supplies for distribution to hungry Gazans and security risks for aid workers are putting relief operations under severe strain, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday. Relief workers face significant security risks. Supply crossings remain unreliable and critical supplies are routinely delayed or blocked. The amount of aid that has been entering Gaza is a trickle compared to the immense needs, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "Israel must enable safe and unimpeded aid delivery, allow the entry of critical equipment and fuel, open all crossings, and restore movement along key supply routes," OCHA said. "Humanitarian staff must be able to operate safely, people must be allowed to move freely, and supplies, including from the private sector, must reach all parts of Gaza." Russian and Ukrainian delegations held a third round of peace talks here on Wednesday evening at the Ciragan Palace, during which the two sides agreed on another prisoner exchange. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky and Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov led the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, respectively. After the talks, Medinsky told reporters that Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war each. Russia has returned the bodies of 7,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers and is ready to return 3,000 more, he said. Sporadic clashes, drone strikes, and ground fighting continued in southern Syria's Sweida province and surrounding areas despite a declared truce, with the number of displaced reaching over 145,000, the United Nations said Wednesday. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the violence between July 20 and 22 has included mortar attacks and aerial surveillance, further injuring civilians and forcing thousands to flee. Most of the displaced have remained within Sweida province, while others have sought safety in neighboring Daraa and Rural Damascus governorates. Access to basic services remains severely disrupted across Sweida. The UN reported widespread outages in electricity, water, fuel, and telecommunications, while food insecurity is worsening due to market disruptions and the closure of bakeries. A proposed new round of tariffs by the United States could result in a 38-billion-euro (44.4 billion U.S. dollars) loss in Italian exports and reduce the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.8 percent by 2027, Italy's largest industrial association said Monday. The findings were published in a report by the research unit of Confindustria, Italy's main business lobby, amid concerns over rising protectionism and its spillover effects on the global economy. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to triple a basic tariff on imports from the EU to 30 percent if Brussels does not cut a deal by the end of the month. Tanzania's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday instructed election officials to begin consultations with political party leaders to ensure that candidate nominations are conducted by the law ahead of the October general elections. Jacobs Mwambegele, chairperson of the INEC, issued the directive while closing a training session for election officials in the Shinyanga Region. "You are expected to translate this training into your daily election duties by initiating meetings with political parties, distributing nomination forms, and conducting nominations for parliamentary and council seats in strict adherence to legal procedures," said Mwambegele.
