Alexey Ivanov, the acting Russian ambassador to Turkey, told TASS on local time November 12 that Russia is ready to hold talks with Ukraine in Istanbul at any time, but Kyiv has not yet responded to Russia's previous initiatives.
Ivanov said, "Russia has repeatedly emphasized that we are willing to continue direct talks with the Ukrainian side and the Ukrainian delegation. Our Turkish partners have also consistently emphasized that the Istanbul platform remains open for us, and the door is still wide open." He added, "If Kyiv shows willingness, we are always ready to conduct such talks."
Ivanov said that Russia had conveyed a series of proposals in previous rounds of negotiations. He said, "(We) put forward an entire set of initiatives, including the establishment of three online working groups. Unfortunately, we have not yet received a positive response from the Ukrainian side on these initiatives."
According to a previous report by CCTV News, on local time July 23, Russia and Ukraine held the third round of direct negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey. The two sides only reached consensus on a prisoner exchange agreement. Russia said their positions on ceasefire were far apart, but agreed to continue discussions; Ukraine released a ceasefire signal and proposed holding a summit between leaders.
During the talks, the Russian side suggested that Russia and Ukraine establish three online working groups on political, cultural and military issues. Ukraine replied at the time that it was considering this proposal. However, Russia later stated that it had not received a formal response from Ukraine.
On the other hand, the prospect of a "Putin-Trump" meeting seems to have seen a turn for the better.
President Trump, who has shown a back-and-forth attitude toward Russia, recently changed his stance again, stating that he hopes to continue meeting with Russian President Putin in Budapest, Hungary. He said that the meeting with Putin is under discussion. On local time November 8, during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán, Trump said that he and Orbán both believe that the Ukraine-Russia conflict will end in the near future.
On local time October 16, after a phone call with Putin, Trump announced that the heads of state of the two countries would meet in Budapest, Hungary, but on the 22nd, he said that he had canceled the plan for the meeting of the heads of state of the two countries, citing that "the timing was not right," and that the meeting could currently "not achieve the goal."
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said on the 11th that Russia is willing to discuss issues such as resuming the summit between the heads of state with the United States.
According to a message from the Russian Foreign Ministry website, Lavrov said during an interview in Moscow with Russian media on the same day that if the United States once again proposes and prepares to start preparing a "truly successful" Russia-US summit, Budapest, the capital of Hungary, would be the preferred location.
This article is an exclusive work of Observer Network. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7571757117246407210/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking on the 【top/foot】 buttons below.