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Rustem Umerov, who heads Ukraine's delegation astatine bid talks with Russia connected Friday, is simply a skilled and pragmatic negotiator, hailed by his colleagues arsenic a idiosyncratic of diplomatic "wonders".
The 43-year-old erstwhile businessman became defence curate successful 2023, a twelvemonth and fractional into Russia's invasion, and has spearheaded immoderate of Kyiv's astir delicate wartime diplomacy -- with Russia and the West.
He has besides been embroiled successful scandals during his tenure, accused of a deficiency of transparency and the taxable of a probe into alleged maltreatment of power.
But Umerov is inactive 1 of lone a fistful of Ukrainians with acquisition brokering deals involving Moscow done the war.
He besides has the receptor of Andriy Yermak, the almighty caput of Ukraine's statesmanlike office.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Umerov would pb a slimmed-down Ukrainian squad astatine talks successful Istanbul.
Kyiv has fewer expectations of a breakthrough, particularly aft Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to travel and despatched a comparatively low-level delegation.
After seeing him successful talks with US officials successful Saudi Arabia earlier this year, Pavlo Palisa -- a respected erstwhile service commandant and lawman caput of Zelensky's bureau -- hailed Umerov's negotiating prowess.
"I americium precise impressed with his mode of conversing with partners. His cleanable English and eastbound charm enactment wonders," Palisa said successful an interrogation published successful April.
Umerov has highlighted his unflappability.
"It's intolerable to enactment unit connected me," helium said successful 2022.
- Crimean roots -
Umerov is simply a salient subordinate of the Tatar Muslim assemblage from Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia successful 2014 that Kyiv says it volition ne'er springiness up hopes of regaining.
His information arsenic defence curate successful 2023 was called a "beautiful governmental gesture" by Sergiy Leshchenko, an advisor to Yermak.
It was a motion that "there volition beryllium nary compromise connected Crimea," helium told AFP.
Umerov was calved successful 1982 successful Soviet Uzbekistan wherever his household had been deported nether Joseph Stalin.
He moved to Crimea arsenic a kid erstwhile the Tatars -- who marque up immoderate 12-15 percent of Crimea's colonisation -- were allowed to return.
Before being elected an MP successful 2019 with a pro-European party, helium had a inheritance successful concern and ran an concern company.
Announcing that helium would pb the Ukrainian delegation, Zelensky highlighted Umerov's fluency successful English and Turkish, arsenic good arsenic Ukrainian and Russian.
Like Russia's apical negotiator -- Kremlin adjutant Vladimir Medinsky -- Umerov was portion of the failed 2022 talks betwixt Russia and Ukraine.
But helium has conducted palmy indirect diplomacy with the Russians.
He took portion successful talks to acceptable up a 2022 atom woody -- the astir important statement involving some sides struck since Russia invaded.
Brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, it enabled cultivation exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
Russia abandoned the inaugural aft a year, but it helped Ukraine commencement exporting millions of tonnes of atom -- shipments it managed to boost pursuing the break-down of the deal.
Umerov besides played a cardinal relation successful a large 2022 captive speech successful which Russia released respective apical commanders who defended the besieged larboard metropolis of Mariupol.
- 'Pragmatist', scandals -
Umerov is "charismatic" and "a bully communicator" who is "quickly liked" by radical astir him, Leshchenko said.
"He knows however to get results with fewer resources, acknowledgment to his idiosyncratic contacts," helium added.
However, past September helium was accused by 3 salient experts of presiding implicit a "ministry of chaos", and criticised for a deficiency of transparency implicit procurement, including related to Western subject support.
Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdog successful January announced it was investigating Umerov for alleged maltreatment of powerfulness aft helium overturned a procurement decision.
He denied the accusations and said helium was trying to reconstruct confidentiality to delicate authorities orders.
Ukraine's subject has been blighted by corruption amid a monolithic influx of currency to the defence assemblage during the war.
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