Ukrainian MP, Inna Sovsun, told N1 that she is not optimistic about the peace talks with Russia in Istanbul, arguing that the main condition for reaching a deal is mutual trust.

“First of all, in order to make a deal with someone, you need to trust the person you are making the deal with will keep his word,” she said, noting that only a week before the beginning of the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview in which he said he will not attack Ukraine.

“At that point in time, he already knew that they were planning to attack,” she pointed out.

She also noted that, two weeks after the war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists his country did not invade Ukraine.

“So this is the primary issue- can we actually trust the people we are making a deal with,” she stressed.