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Erdogan sees Istanbul as proper venue for difficult Russia-US talks — expert

According to the expert, the key question now is who will take part in potential talks on Ukraine in Istanbul

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is offering Istanbul as a venue for what promise to be tough talks on Ukraine between Russia and the United States, Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin told TASS.

"Erdogan sees that the process of negotiating a compromise solution on Ukraine has been energized. In fact, work is currently underway to coordinate the positions advanced by [US President Donald] Trump against the positions of [Vladimir] Zelensky and European countries, and then, the end result will be coordinated with Russia," he said.

"I think, this will not be an easy conversation because even Trump’s version initially had several provisions that are unacceptable for Russia. To be frank, I am sure that the number of unacceptable provisions will only grow after this plan is agreed with European countries and, especially, with Zelensky," Zharikhin noted. "So, Erdogan obviously understands that the conversation isn't going to be an easy one and a proper venue will be needed for it. And he has offered such a venue."

According to the expert, the key question now is who will take part in potential talks on Ukraine in Istanbul. "Generally speaking, this is Trump’s proposal, not Ukraine’s or Zelensky’s. And it should be discussed with the one who suggested it. The very fact that the United States presented highly detailed peace proposals indicates that Trump’s team suggests that compromise options for a deal should be discussed and agreed with them rather than with Zelensky," he explained.

"I’d like to repeat that since Trump’s team is agreeing terms of a potential deal separately with Zelensky and European partners, this means that he is not going to engage with either of them in final talks. In other words, Trump thinks that the final talks on this topic should be between the United States and Russia," the expert added.

In a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Monday, Erdogan said that Ankara will continue facilitating Ukrainian conflict settlement efforts and is ready to offer Istanbul as a venue for talks. Putin, in turn, noted that the US 28-point peace plan could be used as a framework for a peace deal.

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