Ukraine's Zelenskyy forms delegation for talks with Russia over security guarantees

As the war between Russia and Kyiv entered the 41st day on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on Monday, approving the composition of a Ukrainian delegation for the talks with Moscow. According to a report by the news agency Xinhua, the newly formed delegation will be responsible for the talks with Putin's delegation over security guarantees. As per the decree, the Ukrainian delegation will be led by 42-year-old David Arakhamia, who is also Ukraine’s top negotiator in peace talks with Moscow. Apart from Arakhamia, advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office Mykhailo Podoliak, Justice Minister Denys Malyuska, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, and six other Ukrainian officials will also be members of the delegation.

This came more than a week after the delegations of both countries held sixth rounds of talks in Istanbul. During the peace talks, Ukraine had proposed to sign a new international treaty on security guarantees, which enshrines obligations for the guarantor countries to provide Ukraine with military assistance in the event of an attack. "The draft agreements discussed during the Ukraine-Russia meeting in Istanbul are ready for discussion by the presidents of both the nations," Xinhua quoted Arakhamia as saying on Saturday.

Earlier on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a telephonic conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, affirmed that the last peace talks held between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine provided a "meaningful impetus" to the efforts of ending the war. During the conversation, he offered to organise direct peace talks between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed hope that the meeting would possibly end the ongoing confrontation between the forces of Moscow and Kyiv. 

Highlights of 6th Russia-Ukraine peace talks

It is worth mentioning that the delegations of Russia and Ukraine had held the sixth round of talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, March 29. According to Mykhaylo Podolyak, the meeting had lasted for around three hours. After the meeting, the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky announced that Russia had received written proposals on a treaty from Ukraine and added that Moscow had vowed to decrease attacks on the war-torn country. Earlier on Tuesday, Moscow claimed that the talks were constructive. However, the same was not echoed by Kremlin. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, it was a “positive factor” that Ukraine has submitted its written proposals but added that he saw no breakthrough. 

Image: AP/Republic