“This Was the Main Russian Narrative”: Expert Explains Why the Kremlin Is Abandoning the Istanbul Agreements

Political strategist Mikhail Sheitelman commented on the statement by Dmitry Peskov that the Istanbul Peace Negotiations are no longer relevant because the situation has changed, and explained what this could mean, Politeka reports.

He spoke about this in his blog.

“Why? I’m shocked, because this was the main Russian narrative. For four years they kept talking about these Istanbul agreements,” Sheitelman emphasizes.

According to him, Vladimir Putin constantly waved these Istanbul agreements around. In particular, he even showed them to six African presidents when they visited him, saying: look, there is an agreement with the Ukrainians, everything was ready, they had already signed it. After that, the expert notes, Putin kept bringing up these agreements on every possible occasion — and even without one.

Sheitelman also reminds that the Istanbul agreements implied reducing the Armed Forces of Ukraine to 80,000 troops, abandoning even artillery, while now Ukraine is already developing missiles, and essentially giving up almost everything militarily. Therefore, the expert says, Peskov’s statement is indeed surprising.

“This is really a turning point in Russia’s position. Why were they pushing Istanbul on us in May last year, insisting that negotiations had to take place exactly in Istanbul? Because they said it was a continuation of those talks. And they sent Vladimir Medinsky, precisely because he was in Istanbul in 2022. And suddenly, in one day, they cross out their entire policy. The only thing that comes to my mind is that if they have acknowledged that the situation has changed, maybe they are actually ready to sign something? Ready to sign an agreement stating that the Ukrainian army will not be limited in any way, that Ukraine can join any alliances it wants, and so on? Why else would they suddenly abandon something they had been promoting for four years?” Sheitelman reflects.

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