Russia has not yet handed over to Ukraine the promised "memorandum" with a ceasefire position and promises to present it at the delegationsʼ meeting in Istanbul on June 2. However, Kyiv sees this as an attempt to trap the Ukrainian delegation.
This is reported by The New York Times, citing sources.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has accused Russia of dragging out peace talks. At a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart on May 30, he said that Moscow has yet to provide the promised “memorandum” with its peace terms. He stressed that Kyiv wants to familiarize itself with the document before sending a delegation to a new round of talks in Istanbul. This is necessary for any meeting to be “meaningful and productive”.
The NYT notes that Sybihaʼs statement came as Ukraine and Russia attempt to set their own terms and pace for the peace process, while the sides try to enlist the support of the White House, which has previously threatened to withdraw from the negotiations altogether.
Kyiv insists its primary goal is to achieve a ceasefire before moving on to discussing a broader peace deal. Russia, however, has shown little interest in a ceasefire and has repeatedly said that talks should focus on the “roots” of the war, a term that in Kremlin rhetoric encompasses a broad range of demands, including a commitment not to expand NATO eastward. Ukraine and its European allies see this as an attempt to capture Ukraine — politically and geopolitically.
During the previous round of talks in Istanbul on May 16, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange their peace terms. The main achievement of these talks was the “1000 for 1000” exchange. This round brought about a significant prisoner exchange but failed to produce any significant results.
Kyiv said it had already submitted its peace proposals to both Russia and the US. According to an unnamed Ukrainian official, the memorandum calls for a ceasefire on land, at sea and in the air, supervised by international partners.
However, Russia stated that it would provide its “memorandum” only during a new round of negotiations scheduled for June 2. This led to accusations from Ukraine of delaying the process.
Putin’s press secretary Dmitrii Peskov said that the draft memorandums would be discussed at a second round in Istanbul, “for which the Russian delegation will be ready on Monday [June 2] morning”. Peskov had said the day before that “demanding [to hand over the memorandum] immediately is not constructive”.
Prior to this, the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky wrote that Russia was ready to begin "a meaningful discussion of each of the points of the package agreement on a possible ceasefire" in Istanbul on June 2.
Russia’s refusal to hand over the draft document could mean that Moscow is trying to lure Kyiv into a trap, unnamed Ukrainian officials told the NYT. Russia could put forward conditions unacceptable to Kyiv, such as demanding that it relinquish control over the territories it holds — and then blame Ukraine for the breakdown of the talks.
What preceded
On May 16, the first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia since 2022 were held in Istanbul. The meeting lasted a little over an hour. According to journalists, Russia demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from a number of territories to ensure a ceasefire and threatened to occupy the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reported that at the meeting, the Ukrainian and Russian sides discussed a prisoner exchange in the "1000 for 1000" format and a ceasefire. The parties reached an agreement on the exchange — three prisoner exchanges in this format have already taken place.
On May 19, Trump spoke with Putin, as well as with Zelensky and a number of European leaders. Putin said after the conversation that he was ready to work on a memorandum with Ukraine that includes a ceasefire. Trump says that Russia and Ukraine “will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war”.
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