In 2022, Ukraine held secret negotiations with Russia on humanitarian issues – WP

In 2022, Ukraine held secret negotiations with Russia on humanitarian issues, consulting with the United States throughout the process.

This was revealed by Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, in an interview with “The Washington Post”.

Umerov, who was a member of parliament until September 2022 and then headed the State Property Fund until September 2023, suggested that these negotiations were separate from the well-known Istanbul talks, pointing to further contacts with Russia.

“Umerov told me that in the secret negotiations of 2022, there were several negotiation tracks involving international partners. The result of these efforts was the creation of a ‘humanitarian corridor,’ which allowed 400,000 people to leave Russian-occupied territory, the exchange of prisoners of war, political prisoners, and wounded soldiers, as well as the grain export agreement that enabled Ukraine to resume shipments via the Black Sea. The United States ‘always knew’ about these contacts,” Umerov said, “because we always consulted on every track,” writes David Ignatius in his column.

American officials confirmed to the publication that these secret talks took place in 2022, at a time when Russia was publicly threatening the use of tactical nuclear weapons. When asked if any similar negotiations are currently ongoing through secret channels, Umerov responded that the “humanitarian track is still open.”

Earlier, “Foreign Affairs” published details about the breakdown of the Istanbul agreements in 2022.