It looks inevitable that Russia’s war in Ukraine will continue for some time — and the question is how much damage will have occurred before negotiations resume, according to a spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey, while critical of the Russian invasion and President Vladimir Putin’s recent move to annex territories in Ukraine, has maintained good relations with the Kremlin and brokered an agreement this summer to allow grain shipments from Ukrainian ports.

Earlier on Friday, Erdogan spoke with Putin about the “latest developments” in the war in Ukraine, according to a readout from the Turkish government.

His spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, told CNN that negotiations will likely resume at some point.

Eye Wash Solution McKesson Active ingredient: 98.3% Purified Water Inactive ingredients

“The question is: When we will come back to it and how much damage will have been done by then?” Kalin said during an interview with CNN’s Isa Soares.

Negotiation ground to a halt after Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions last week, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky going so far as signing a decree declaring negotiations impossible.

The decree, published on the Ukrainian Presidency’s website, declared “the impossibility of holding negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.” It was dated Sept. 30, the day on which Putin announced that he would illegally annex four partially-occupied regions of Ukraine.

Kalin said the halt in talks was to be expected, adding he had recently discussed the issue with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

The Turkish official said there was also a larger point at play when it comes to Russian involvement in negotiations.

“Our understanding is that Mr. Putin wants to have a new grand bargain, a new deal with the West. It’s partly about Ukraine, no doubt. But the larger issue is really a new deal between Russia and the Western world,” Kalin said.

Moscow feels that the agreements made at the end of the Cold War, under Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, no longer reflect the Russia of today, he said. “There is a new Russia, there is a new world, there is a new reality, and they want to have a new bargain,” Kalin said.

As a result, the entire global liberal order is facing a big test, he said.

Source link: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-10-07-22/index.html