"We are ready for a full and unconditional ceasefire, as we previously noted during meetings in Jeddah and Riyadh with our American partners. Ukraine is ready for direct negotiations at the highest level. Today, we arrived in Istanbul to find real paths toward a sustainable and just peace", - said Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov on May 16.
According to him, in Istanbul, together with the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha, they held a meeting with the Special Representative of the President of the United States Keith Kellogg, the United Kingdom’s National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister Jonathan Powell, the Foreign Policy and Security Advisor to the German Chancellor Günter Sautter, and the Diplomatic Advisor to the President of France Emmanuel Bonne.
"We coordinated our positions with colleagues ahead of today's meeting with the russian delegation in Istanbul. The Ukrainian side reaffirmed its commitment to peace efforts, emphasizing the constructive steps taken in recent weeks and months", - the minister noted.
He stressed that peace is only possible if russia demonstrates readiness for concrete actions, among which are a complete ceasefire for at least 30 days and the implementation of humanitarian measures such as the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children and the exchange of prisoners of war on an 'all for all' basis.
"We are grateful to our partners—the U.S., France, the United Kingdom, and Germany—for their support in advancing the peace process. We also thank Turkey for facilitating the organization of today’s meeting and for creating a platform for negotiations, as well as for its active participation in achieving a just peace for Ukraine. We continue our struggle for a fair and lasting peace and remain committed to our efforts to achieve it", - added Umerov.