Ukraine responded to Russia’s proposal for short-term ceasefires
Tykhyi said that during the negotiations, the Russians continued to reject a full ceasefire and stated that they have no reason to stop the fire since they «are advancing further.»
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Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine / © Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
The Russian delegation in Istanbul continued to reject any steps toward a ceasefire, and Russia’s proposals for short-term ceasefires are not new.
Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and a member of the Ukrainian delegation, said this during a briefing following the Ukraine-Russia negotiations in Istanbul on Wednesday, July 23.
«I’m not saying this is a verbatim [Russian statement at the Istanbul talks], but it sounds something like: „We are advancing, moving forward, so why should we stop the fire?“ Tykhyi said.
He also noted that such a statement from the Russians was cynical, and they rejected any steps toward peace.
As previously mentioned, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, allegedly spoke about a proposal for Kyiv to consider announcing short (24- or 48-hour) truces to evacuate the wounded and the bodies of soldiers.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that such Russian proposals were not new. The Ukrainian delegation heard about them during previous negotiations as well.
«We’ve also heard other „ideas“ from Russia — a truce for Easter, for Victory Day… But this is not a real ceasefire. If it’s about some humanitarian pauses in small sections of the front, that already happens from time to time. Ukrainian and Russian commanders coordinate such things among themselves… This is a short humanitarian pause, but not a ceasefire,» he added.