The Russian side did everything possible to push the United States out of the negotiation platform in Istanbul — and they succeeded, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a briefing. According to him,

It restated Moscow's demands that Ukraine become a neutral country - ruling out membership of NATO - and that it protect the rights of Russian speakers, make Russian an official language and enact a legal ban on glorification of Nazism. Ukraine rejects the Nazi charge as absurd and denies discriminating against Russian speakers.