The U.S. is asking Russia not to send “hardliners” to negotiations with Ukraine – Bloomberg

Americans ask Russia not to send Vladimir Medinsky and other “Hardliners” to next negotiations with Ukraine.

Bloomberg reports, citing sources, that the U.S. administration is asking Russia not to send Vladimir Medinsky and other “hardline” figures to the next round of negotiations with Ukraine.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is in contact with Kyiv to ensure that the second round of negotiations takes place. European officials say discussions are underway about the possibility of holding talks in the Vatican as early as next week, but Russia is refusing this location.

Russia considers Turkey the best place for negotiations, as President Putin told Trump during a phone call. The choice of Turkey and the composition of the 2022 delegation led by Medinsky “is seen as a signal from Russia that it is ‘returning to the starting point’ of negotiations,” according to a senior European official.

Putin also still does not want to hold direct negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Vatican or anywhere else.

The Russian Orthodox Church also opposes the Vatican, considering it a “historical rival in Ukraine” that did not criticize the closure of UOC churches. Political analysts note that Russia does not consider the Vatican a neutral party in the conflict.

But even if all these obstacles were overcome, the negotiations are still “far from reaching an agreement that would require a high-level meeting involving Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy to sign a peace deal.”

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that a new round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia is expected to take place in mid-June in the Vatican.