US newspaper: Negotiations in Türkiye are a 'tactical victory' for Russia
Russia's TASS news agency quoted an article in The New York Times (NYT) saying that the negotiations on a solution to the Ukraine issue that Russia organized in Istanbul, Türkiye, marked a tactical victory for Moscow.
The talks are not expected to yield any major breakthroughs, the paper said, and US President Donald Trump has said the same, although he expressed support for the meeting.
“But the meeting was a tactical victory for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, who succeeded in launching talks without first agreeing to a ceasefire on the battlefield – something Ukraine and most of its Western backers had sought to set as a precondition for the talks,” the paper wrote.
The Trump administration is feeling "disillusioned" by the lack of progress in efforts to achieve peace, the NYT said.
The article stated: "Despite encouraging talks earlier in the week, Mr. Trump undermined them in comments on May 15, saying nothing meaningful would happen until he met with Mr. Putin. On May 16, Mr. Trump said he would probably call the Russian leader and would meet with him 'as soon as we can arrange it.'"
At talks held on May 16, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, present a vision of a possible ceasefire, outline specific details, and continue to maintain contact.
The head of the Russian negotiating delegation, Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, said Russia was satisfied with the results of the meeting.