Skepticism and suspicion: Top things to know about Russia and Ukraine talks

India seeks a 'purposeful engagement' in negotiations between the two sides as war continues.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is now in its second month. More than a thousand people have died and nearly 3.6 million have fled the war-torn nation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday hosted negotiators from Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul for talks to end the conflict. Russia's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky called the talks with Ukraine 'constructive', adding a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy will happen 'as soon as the agreement is prepared.'

What is Russia's stand on Ukraine?

Russia, which launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24 to uproot "neo-Nazi nationalists", on Tuesday announced it will sharply cut down its military operations in Kyiv and Chernihiv. However, Moscow made no mention of other areas that are witnessing very heavy fighting, including Mariupol, Sumy, and Kharkiv. While Moscow launched its attack on Ukraine to stop the nation's 'military action', the civilian death toll in the war-hit nation has reached 1,119 as the Russian troops have repeatedly targeted residential areas, schools, and hospitals.

Ukraine's stand on Russian invasion

Reacting with skepticism, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said, "Ukrainians are not naive people," as the nation's armed forces general staff said Moscow's promise to curtail military operations in some areas was "probably a rotation of individual units and aims to mislead."

Zelenskyy earlier agreed with Russia's demand that Ukraine will not seek to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, neither Russia's aggression in Ukraine has slowed down, nor the diplomatic talks have yielded any results yet.

US thinks Russia 'rearranging troops', not withdrawing

Soon after Moscow's announcement, US President Joe Biden said he was not convinced that Russia will pull back its troops. Hours later, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that Russia is "repositioning" its troops around Kyiv, not withdrawing them. 

To stop Russia's attack in Ukraine, Biden has imposed several sanctions on Moscow and has also put NATO troops on alert. But Putin's intentions for Ukraine have remained undeterred.

Britain will take a very skeptical view towards Russia and its pledge to scale down military operations around Kyiv, with Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab saying London will judge Moscow on its actions not words.

India wants a 'purposeful engagement' in talks

India, an ally of both Russia and the US, has taken a neutral stand. India has abstained from voting on resolutions against Moscow in the United Nations thrice. It once abstained from Russia's resolution on Ukraine. T S Tirumurti, India's permanent representative to the UN, on Tuesday, called for a “purposeful engagement” by Russia and Ukraine in the ongoing talks and expressed hope for immediate de-escalation of tensions.

(With inputs from agencies)