Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian defense minister leading Kyiv’s delegation in peace discussions with Russia on Friday, is recognized by his peers as an adept and pragmatic negotiator.

At 43 years old, Umerov, a former businessman, assumed the role of defense minister in 2023, a year and a half into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and has taken the lead in some of Kyiv’s most delicate wartime diplomatic efforts with both Russia and Western partners.

Throughout his tenure, he has encountered scandals, facing accusations regarding a lack of transparency and being the subject of an investigation for alleged abuse of power.

Nonetheless, Umerov is among the few Ukrainians with experience in negotiating with Moscow during the ongoing conflict.

He maintains a close relationship with Andriy Yermak, the influential head of Ukraine’s presidential office.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Umerov would head a streamlined Ukrainian team in the talks in Istanbul.

Expectations for a significant breakthrough from Kyiv are low, particularly after Russian President Vladimir Putin chose not to attend and sent a lower-level delegation instead.

Having observed Umerov’s discussions with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, Pavlo Palisa, a respected former military commander and deputy head of Zelensky’s office, praised Umerov’s negotiating skills.

“I am highly impressed with how he interacts with partners. His impeccable English and Eastern charm are very effective,” Palisa noted in an interview published in April.

Umerov has emphasized his calmness in challenging situations.

“You can’t apply pressure on me,” he stated in 2022.

He is a significant figure among the Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic group from the Russian-occupied Black Sea peninsula, which Kyiv insists it will always strive to reclaim.

Serhiy Leshchenko, an advisor to Yermak, termed his appointment as defense minister in 2023 a “wonderful political gesture.”

It symbolized that “there will be no concessions regarding Crimea,” he told AFP.

Born in 1982 in Soviet Uzbekistan, where his family had been exiled under Josef Stalin, Umerov moved to Crimea as a child when the Crimean Tatars were finally permitted to return.

Before his election as a member of parliament in 2019 with a pro-European party, he had a background in business and operated an investment firm.

When announcing his leadership of the Ukrainian delegation, Zelensky underscored Umerov’s proficiency in English and Turkish, in addition to Ukrainian and Russian.

Similar to Russia’s chief negotiator, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, Umerov participated in the unsuccessful 2022 negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

However, he has successfully engaged in indirect diplomacy with Russian officials.

He was involved in the establishment of the UN and Turkish-mediated Black Sea grain deal, which represented the most significant agreement between the two sides since Russia’s invasion.

Though Russia abandoned the agreement after a year, it aided Ukraine in commencing the export of millions of tons of grain—shipments that Ukraine has managed to increase even after the deal’s collapse.

Umerov also played a crucial role in a significant prisoner exchange in 2022, during which Russia released several high-ranking commanders who had defended the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Leshchenko described Umerov as “charismatic” and “an effective communicator” who is “quickly well-liked” by those around him.

“He has a knack for achieving results with limited resources, thanks to his personal connections,” he added.

However, in September of last year, three leading experts accused him of overseeing a “ministry of chaos” and criticized him for a lack of transparency in procurement processes, including those related to Western military assistance.

In January, Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdog announced an investigation into Umerov for alleged abuse of power after he reversed a procurement decision.

He has denied these allegations, asserting that he was attempting to restore confidentiality for sensitive state contracts.

Ukraine’s military has been plagued by corruption amid a substantial influx of funding into the defense sector during the ongoing conflict.