Peskov explained why Medinsky returned to negotiations with Ukraine

Russian Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky has always remained the head of the Russian delegation to the negotiations with Ukraine, although he did not participate in previous rounds in Abu Dhabi. This was announced on February 16 by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"The head of the delegation of Russian negotiators is Medinsky. This is a statement by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin did it before the first round in Abu Dhabi, during and so on. Therefore, Medinsky remained the head of the delegation of our negotiators," he said during a briefing.

Peskov added that Medinsky did not come to the talks in Abu Dhabi because security issues were discussed there. For this reason, the group was headed by Igor Kostyukov, Head of the Main Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Now, the parties will discuss many other topics, and Medinsky should be present in Geneva, the press secretary of the Russian president said.

The next round of negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine on the settlement of the conflict will be held on February 17-18 in Geneva. Switzerland has officially confirmed its readiness to host the trilateral meeting. According to Peskov, the Russian delegation at the talks will be headed by Medinsky. Representatives of the European Union (EU) countries will not attend the negotiations.

On February 15, Galuzin said that the participants in the trilateral negotiations had agreed to work "without leaks" of information at all meetings. It was also reported that the Swiss side intends to provide the delegation from Russia with safe passage to the talks in Geneva. The head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov (listed in the Russian Federation as a terrorist and extremist), noted on February 16 that Ukrainian negotiators had already flown to Switzerland.

The news is being updated