Delegations from Russia and Ukraine started the fifth peace negotiations at 10:10 am on the 29th (local time) at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.
Prior to the negotiations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the negotiators that “a fair peace will not result in losers” and “I hope that the summit between Russia and Ukraine will be held in Turkey.” ·Three face-to-face negotiations were held on the 7th, and the 4th meeting was held in the form of a videoconference from the 14th.
As the Russian army that invaded Ukraine struggles unexpectedly on the battlefield, there is an air current that their ‘war goals’ are changing.
The goals that Russia set for the war on the 24th of last month were the ‘demilitarization’ and ‘de-Naziization’ of Ukraine and the protection of pro-Russian residents in the eastern Donbas region.
So far, Ukraine and Russia have negotiated four times, but differences have not yet been resolved.
However, there are signs of change not only in Ukraine but also in Russia around the negotiating table.
Sergei Rudskoy, 1st Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Army’s General Staff, told reporters on the 25th that “Most of the ‘first-stage operation’ has been implemented.” Mikhail Mijinchev, commander of the National Defense Management Center (middle-general), who also attended the press conference, emphasized that “Kiiv (Kyiv) is not a goal.”
Comparing this with the ‘declaration of the start of war’, which would demilitarize the entire Ukraine and change the regime, it was interpreted that the goal might have been revised.
In response, Foreign Policy, a diplomatic magazine, explained on the 28th, “It is a sign that Russia has turned to focus its capabilities on eastern Ukraine (Donbas).”
Ukraine’s side also hinted at the possibility of negotiating with NATO membership, neutralization, and the status of the Donbass region.
Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the 27th that “there has been no significant progress in the negotiations so far, and at this time there will be no talks between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.”