Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, once again lectured the participants on “history” during the Geneva talks, according to an informed source cited by RBC-Ukraine.
In the analyst’s view, Russia’s decision to bring Medinsky back into the delegation indicates that Putin does not want to achieve anything in the current peace talks.
That is exactly what happened. Moscow’s key demand remained unchanged — the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the entire Donetsk Oblast, a home to 800,000 people.
Medinsky subgroup is stuck: ultimatum on Donetsk unchanged
According to the RBC-Ukraine source, Medinsky’s appointment may be either an attempt to drag out the negotiation process or a move toward a more ultimatum-driven presentation of Russian demands.
The source says the military subgroup is already close to finalizing its work, while the political subgroup, with Medinsky involved, is currently at a standstill.
“How the decisions of the political subgroup are made will determine how the outcomes developed by the military subgroup are implemented,” the source explains.
The Russians plan to submit this proposal to Putin, since the officials present at the talks do not have the authority to make such decisions.
According to the source, Medinsky again appealed to the Istanbul 2022 talks, proposing to base the process on those terms and positions. However, the Ukrainian delegation managed to shift the conversation.
Istanbul 2022 as "anchor: attempt to move discussion
“Eventually, after these references to Istanbul, the discussion was steered into a more constructive channel,” the source says.
When asked whether there were once again “history lessons” from Medinsky and mentions of the Rurikid dynasty, the source replied: “Of course.”
According to the source, the change in the head of the Russian delegation and the appearance of a representative from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Russians to refocus more actively on withdrawing Ukrainian forces from Donetsk Oblast.
“They explain this by saying that in Abu Dhabi the focus was on military matters — monitoring procedures and a ceasefire, etc. — whereas in Geneva they emphasized the political component,” the source claims.
He adds that in Geneva, the sides agreed that the negotiating teams' work would continue, and that the next meeting may take place in one to two weeks.
