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Sybiha: Putin used meeting in Istanbul to imitate peace process and buy time

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that the world cannot allow the meeting in Istanbul on May 16 to be used by Russia as a pretext to continue its aggression against Ukraine.

He wrote about this on the social network X, Censor.NET reports.

According to him, the results of this week's diplomacy can be viewed from three perspectives: Ukrainian, Russian and global.

"From the Ukrainian point of view, we reaffirmed our commitment to peace and agreed to return 1,000 of our people. From the Russian point of view, Putin used the Istanbul meeting for the purposes of internal propaganda and imitation of the peace process, to gain time, to postpone the introduction of new sanctions. He is trying to appear constructive, while actually refusing to end the war," Sybiha said.

At the same time, the diplomat noted, from a global perspective, there is only one real indicator of Russia's readiness to end the war: Putin's agreement to an unconditional, complete and lasting ceasefire.

"There should be more steps than the 17th EU sanctions package, for which we are grateful. An oil price cap, an embargo on Russian energy in Europe, a shadow fleet, full sectoral sanctions against the entire banking sector and the central bank, as well as other steps by Europe, the United States and other partners," Sybiha emphasized.

Economic pressure should go hand in hand with steps to strengthen Ukraine: additional deterrence packages, air defense, and investments in the defense industry, the Ukrainian minister said.

"We continue to call on Russia to agree to a full and lasting ceasefire, to stop the killings and to start a meaningful peace process. Each day of refusal should lead to increased pressure," Sybiha added.

Negotiations in Turkey

On the night of May 11, Putin offered to resume direct talks with Ukraine "without any preconditions" in Turkey on May 15.

US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine should immediately agree to Russia's proposal for direct talks in Turkey.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he would personally wait for Putin on May 15. He also noted that he wants Trump to be present in Turkey as well.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin officially approves the composition of the delegation that will travel to Istanbul for talks with Ukraine on May 15.

On May 15, a Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for talks with Ukraine.

It later 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 May 16.

On the evening of May 15, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the composition of the Ukrainian delegation to participate in the negotiations with Russia in Turkey, scheduled for May 15-16.

On May 16, in the afternoon, a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations began 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 May 16 ended.