‘HISTORIC RESPONSIBILITY’

‘No Losers in a Just Peace’: Erdogan Appeals for Compromise as Russian-Ukrainian Peace Talks Resume

Among those in Istanbul is oligarch Roman Abramovich, despite reported “chemical” attack at previous round of negotiations.

The Turkish president urged Russian and Ukrainian negotiators to agree to a ceasefire as another round of peace talks began in Istanbul on Tuesday. Reçep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to the delegations before talks resumed in an old Ottoman palace on the banks of the Bosphorus, the Associated Press reported. “We believe that there will be no losers in a just peace. Prolonging the conflict is not in anyone’s interest,” Erdogan said. “As members of the delegations, you have taken on a historic responsibility. The whole world is awaiting the good news that will come from you.” Among those attending the talks is the oligarch Roman Abramovich, who is acting as Vladimir Putin's unofficial envoy. It emerged Monday that Abramovich and two Ukrainian negotiators were reported to have fallen sick after a supposed “chemical” attack on a previous round of talks in Kyiv that was blamed on Russian hardliners trying to derail a peace settlement.