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Russia Sent Technical Delegation to Turkey to Bypass Sanctions, French FM Says
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![Photo of Lucile Brizard]( "Photo of Lucile Brizard")
Russia has sent a technical delegation to Turkey for talks aimed at circumventing international sanctions, French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot said on May 15.
The announcement was made ahead of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting scheduled to take place in Turkey.
Barrot said the best possible outcome of these technical discussions would be “an immediate, unconditional ceasefire that will allow for the start of full-fledged peace negotiations,” according to a Radio Svoboda correspondent.
Speaking before the meeting, the French minister warned against repeating what he described as key errors made during past negotiation attempts.
“The first trap is to negotiate while bombs are falling on Ukraine. Last time, the massacre in Bucha, which took place during those negotiations, led to their breakdown,” Barrot said.
He further cautioned against limiting Ukraine’s ability to secure its future: “The second trap is to try to impose the demilitarization of Ukraine and prevent Ukraine from seeking real security guarantees from its partners after the war.
“This will again doom the negotiations to failure, because there can be no lasting peace without reliable security guarantees.”
Barrot identified a third potential misstep as the premature lifting of sanctions before agreed-upon conditions are fulfilled. According to him, this was among the reasons for the collapse of the Istanbul talks in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Kharkiv Operational-Tactical Group reported that Russian forces have effectively launched their summer offensive.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
