ADVERTISEMENTUnder the growing pressure from the US President, Moscow proposed a new round of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul next Monday.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia hopes this proposal will be supported by «all those who are sincerely, and not just in words, interested in the success of the peace process.»
The statement comes after Russia launched its largest-ever aerial attack on Ukraine, firing hundreds of drones and missiles for a few days in a row.
Lavrov said he also talked to the US Secretary of State and presented him Moscow’s «specific proposals» for the next round of negotiations.
The Russian foreign ministry issued a statement saying Lavrov «informed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about implementing the 19 May agreements between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the United States Donald Trump.»
No more details were given about what exactly those agreements include and what is in Moscow’s «specific proposals».
On 19 May Trump and Putin had a phone call in which the Russian president said he voiced «his readiness to negotiate a memorandum regarding a potential future peace treaty.»
However, Putin said he rejected the idea of a ceasefire as the first step to a future peace agreement, while reiterating Moscow’s demands.
During the call, Putin also promised Trump that Russia would produce a «memorandum» for the future agreement, while Ukraine prepared one as well.
What is in the ‘peace memorandum’?
After the first round of talks in Istanbul on 16 May, Ukraine and Russia were supposed to prepare their memoranda, setting out their positions.
Kyiv said it has submitted its peace terms document and insisted that Russia do the same before further talks.
Ukraine’s defence minister, who led the delegation in Turkey, said, «We are not opposed to further meetings with the Russians and are awaiting their memorandum,» adding that the Kyiv delegation has not received anything from Moscow yet.
“The Russian side has at least four more days before their departure to provide us with their document for review. Diplomacy must be substantive, and the next meeting must yield results”, Rustem Umerov said on Wednesday.
However, Moscow insists on presenting it only in Istanbul on Monday and not before. Lavrov said the Russian delegation was «ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, 2 June.»
He added that the Moscow team has «promptly drafted a corresponding memorandum, which lays out our position on all aspects of reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis.»
The Kremlin has been using the term «root causes» in the run-up to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and repeatedly refers to them to justify its all-out war against the neighbouring country.
Among other maximalist demands, Moscow includes in what it sees as «root causes» Kyiv’s withdrawal from four partially occupied Ukrainian regions it claimed to have annexed, including the territories Moscow never controlled.
Reportedly, Russia’s new memorandum also includes a written pledge that NATO will not expand further eastward, effectively blocking Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova from joining.
According to reports, Moscow also demands lifting of some Western sanctions and resolution of frozen Russian assets, as well as the previously stated goals like «the protection of Russian-speaking Ukrainians».
Russia has repeatedly failed to provide concrete proof of Ukraine putting any pressure on its citizens regarding the use of language.
Notably, Moscow has shown no readiness for concessions, instead insisting that Kyiv must cede its territories and abandon its aspirations for EU and NATO membership.
No meeting between the presidents
The Kremlin has not commented on whether Putin will agree to a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at some stage of the negotiating process.
The meeting in Istanbul is expected to have the same delegations as the first one, with the Kyiv team led by Ukraine’s Defence Minister Umerov and the Moscow delegation headed by Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s president said he is ready for a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin, Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne reported.
«We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. The American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this. We are ready for the ‘Trump, Putin, and me’ format, and we are ready for the Trump-Putin, Trump-Zelensky format, and then the three of us,» Zelenskyy said.
He also added that several venues are being considered for future talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US, particularly Turkey, Switzerland, and the Vatican.
The US president has been increasing his pressure on Putin over the past week, albeit stopping short of issuing new sanctions against Russia.
On Wednesday, Trump seemingly issued a deadline for Russia’s president to make progress on ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine.
When asked whether he thinks Putin is serious about a peace deal, Trump said, «I’ll let you know in about two weeks.»
