INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
offer to meet face-to-face in Istanbul, instead sending a delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, the Kremlin aide who led the negotiations
with Ukraine in March and April 2022.Medinsky was joined by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin
Istanbul framework as a symbolic gesture not intended to seek a real solution to the war.The Moscow Times takes a closer look at the man
nationalist views and close ties to Putin.A former State Duma deputy, he also serves as the chairman and first secretary of the Union of
Writers of Russia as well as chairman of the Russian Military Historical Society.During his time as culture minister from 2012-2020,
Medinsky implemented policies aimed at reinforcing state control over cultural narratives, believing that culture should serve patriotic
agendas.In 2017, Medinsky faced a major academic scandal over his doctoral dissertation, "Problems of objectivity in the portrayal of
in the Ukraine warFollowing Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Medinsky, who was born in Ukraine, emerged as a key figure in
the diplomatic efforts between the two countries, representing the Kremlin's interests at the negotiating table.According to the draft 2022
Istanbul Communique, which Reuters reviewed, Ukraine would agree to permanent neutrality in return for international security guarantees
from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as other nations including Belarus, Canada, Germany, Israel, Poland and
Turkey.Ukraine provisionally agreed to non-nuclear neutrality and forgoing NATO membership in return for a security guarantee
That guarantee would oblige the U.S
and its allies to fight Russia directly if Russia invaded Ukraine again, Reuters reported.The talks broke down after several rounds of
Endowment for International Peace
questions surrounding Russian-occupied territories, the size of the Ukrainian army and the list of peace-guarantor countries.
