UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric assessed the talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled to be held in Istanbul on May 15.
“We always appreciate the role Turkey has played in efforts to end this conflict. Our position is firm: we want the conflict to end in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and international law, and we continue to support all efforts to achieve this goal,” Dujarric said.
Dujarric said he would make further statements on the matter once the details of the plan for the meeting in Istanbul become clear.
President Vladimir Putin, in a statement to the press in his country on May 11, offered to resume peace talks with Turkey on May 15 in Istanbul and announced that he would ask President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to provide a platform for the talks.
He also expressed his belief that the talks in Istanbul would yield positive results, saying, “I don’t know where I will be at that moment. I will be somewhere in the Middle East, but if I think it would be beneficial, I might travel there (to Istanbul).”
Russia and Ukraine previously held direct negotiations in Istanbul in 2022 with the aim of stopping the war.
Thanks to intensive diplomatic efforts by Turkey, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Istanbul on March 29, 2022, at the Dolmabahce Labor Office.
