Russia demanded at talks in Istanbul that Ukraine recognise occupation and refuse to seek reparations - Bloomberg
During the talks in Istanbul on 16 May, the Russian delegation put forward several ultimatums for Ukraine to cease fire.
This was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, Censor.NET reports.
According to sources, during the talks, the Russian delegation demanded that Ukraine declare a neutral status without the presence of foreign troops and weapons of mass destruction on its territory.
Moscow also wants Ukraine to abandon its demands for reparations from Russia for damage caused during the full-scale war.
In addition, the Russian delegation demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from four regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
"The Russian delegation said that Putin would agree to a ceasefire only after Ukraine withdraws its troops from Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions and places them under Russian control. The Kremlin is also demanding international recognition of all five regions as Russian," the sources told Bloomberg.
Negotiations in Turkey
On the night of 11 May, Putin offered to resume direct talks with Ukraine "without any preconditions" in Turkey on 15 May.
US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine should immediately agree to Russia's proposal for direct talks in Turkey.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he would personally wait for Putin on 15 May. He also said that he wants Trump to be present in Turkey.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has officially approved the composition of the delegation that will travel to Istanbul on 15 May for talks with Ukraine.
On 15 May, a Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for talks with Ukraine.
Later, it became known that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would send a Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul for talks with the Russian side.
Russian media later reported that the talks between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul had been postponed to 16 May.
On the evening of 15 May, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the composition of the Ukrainian delegation to participate in the negotiations with Russia in Turkey, scheduled for 15-16 May.
On 16 May, a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations began in the afternoon with the participation of the Turkish side.
In less than two hours, the meeting between the delegations of Ukraine, Russia and Turkey in Istanbul on 16 May ended.
