Fulfill this and the war is over: the Turks have discovered what the Russian leader is up to
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A spokesman for the Turkish president, Erdogan, offered Putin and Zelensky that Turkey be the country where the presidents of the two warring countries will meet face to face and hold talks to end the war, CNN reports.
In an interview with the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, spokesman Ibrahim Kalin added that Zelenski was ready for talks, but that Putin had raised issues that needed to be resolved before any further negotiations and a possible face-to-face meeting.
“The first is the neutrality of Ukraine, that is, the renunciation of NATO membership. Second, disarmament and mutual security guarantees in the context of the Austrian model. Third, a process that the Russian side calls ‘denazification’. Fourth, removing obstacles to the widespread use of the Russian language in Ukraine. It is understood that some progress has been made in the negotiations so far. It is too early to say that there is a complete agreement or that the agreement is close to signing, “Kalin said in an interview.
He adds that Putin added two particularly difficult demands, namely the recognition of the annexation of Crimea and the so-called republics in Donbas. Kalin says the last two issues are not acceptable to Ukraine and the international community.
“If an agreement is reached on the first four points, there may be a discussion on the fifth and sixth,” Kalin said, adding that negotiations could then lead to an agreement and an end to the war. According to Kalin, Erdoğan called on Putin for a permanent truce and offered Istanbul and Ankara as places where the Russian and Ukrainian presidents could meet.
