Serhiy Kyslytsia, First Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, shared his impressions of the talks between Ukraine and Russia that took place in Istanbul. According to Kyslytsia, Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky devoted much of the meeting to historical topics. Instead of discussing current issues, Medinsky spoke about the Turkish and Swedish wars and other events from the past.
Kyslytsia noted that such meetings were filled with what he called “audio spam” from the Russian delegation. “There were a lot of lectures and narratives,” the diplomat explained.
Medinsky spoke at length about historical conflicts that were irrelevant to the negotiations. “He devoted considerable attention to historical digressions, even though we all remember the problems with his academic work,” Kyslytsia added.
According to Kyslytsia, the Ukrainian delegation had agreed in advance not to engage in historical debates. They allowed the Russian side to speak, but consistently steered the conversation back to specific agenda items.
Earlier, Western analysts had emphasized that Russian leader Vladimir Putin found himself in a situation posing high risks for the Kremlin due to the possible escalation of the war.
