Ukraine refutes claims of bilateral talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials

The Center for Countering Disinformation reported that the claim about a secret meeting between Medinsky and Umerov is false. They actually met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who acted as a mediator.

The Center said any talk of secret agreements is manipulation meant to undermine trust in Ukraine’s negotiation team.

The Center emphasized that “Russian propaganda is launching a two-part information attack against Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul. Inside Ukraine, they will spread conspiracy theories about personal ties between delegation members and Russians. For Western audiences, they will claim that Ukraine is delaying the peace talks. Meanwhile, Russia continues to avoid ceasefire agreements.”

• On June 2, the second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul, Turkey.
• A representative of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Medinsky, claimed to have had a personal meeting with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Istanbul.