Far from the public eye and the bloody front line, Ukraine and Russia are still talking, writes The Washington Post.
The countries, now arch-enemies fighting a bitter war, managed to negotiate on several key humanitarian issues: the exchange of prisoners of war and the bodies of dead soldiers, the passage of ships from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, and the return of Ukrainian children from Russia.
In some cases, Moscow and Kiev use intermediaries, including Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Vatican and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
But most of the wartime barter is done directly, by individual representatives, including in difficult and unpleasant face-to-face meetings on the Ukrainian-Russian border or in Istanbul, as well as telephone conversations. This was revealed by Ukrainian officials involved in the discussions.
Neither party wishes to advertise the existence of these secret communication channels. “It’s emotionally very difficult,” said Dmytro Usov, a Ukrainian military intelligence official who heads a coordination center overseeing prisoner swap negotiations.
“We understand that whatever happened, whatever relationship we have now, we as Ukrainians are interested in the return of our defenders, and if we reject every channel of communication, we will not be able to do that,” he added.
Given Russia’s brutal attempt to overthrow Ukraine’s government and steal its territory, there isn’t much room for negotiations to end the war. In March 2022, a series of formal peace talks failed. Kiev has indicated that it will not negotiate with the Russian occupiers as long as there are Russian troops on Ukrainian territory.
On the Russian side, negotiations for the exchange of prisoners of war are carried out by a coordination center under the Russian Ministry of Defense, which also includes the Russian FSB security service. Individual Russian politicians and militant groups such as the Wagner and Akhmat mercenary group controlled by Kadyrov have also lobbied for the release of specific prisoners, Usov said.
The Geneva Conventions provide for the exchange of prisoners of war after the end of hostilities. However, according to Yussov, Ukraine is seeking to return its captured fighters as soon as possible, because according to the UN, they are subjected to systematic torture. Neither side said how many soldiers were captured. The exchange of prisoners of war, as well as the exchange of bodies of dead soldiers, takes place mainly in Sumy Oblast, North-Eastern Ukraine.
Turkey has become the country where Ukraine and Russia negotiate on neutral territory. Turkish President Recep Erdogan has successfully cultivated ties with Moscow and Kiev, condemning Russia’s invasion while rejecting Western sanctions.
This month, Qatar helped secure the return of four Ukrainian children from Russia, becoming the third country after Turkey and Saudi Arabia to broker a successful deal between Russia and Ukraine. One of the officials involved in the deal said Qatar intervened because of the complexity of the situation. In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Regarding the grain deal, there were no direct contacts between Ukraine and Russia – instead, intermediaries again intervened.
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2023-10-26 08:20:00
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