Russia said it had drafted a peace ‘memorandum’ outlining its terms for ending the Ukraine conflict and would present it to Ukraine at a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on 2 June.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on Russia’s announcement, and the Kremlin has ruled out a three-way meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine previously met in Istanbul on 16 May, their first face-to-face talks on the conflict in over three years amid a United States-led diplomatic push to end the fighting.
“Our delegation, led by Vladimir Medinsky, is 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,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a video statement.
“I would like to once again express our gratitude to our Turkish partners for providing a hospitable venue, as confirmed yesterday by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during his visit to Moscow,” Mr Lavrov added.
Mr Medinsky, a Russian political scientist and former culture minister, led Russia’s negotiating team during the first round of talks on 16 May.
The Kremlin earlier rebuffed a call by Mr Zelensky for a three-way summit with Mr Trump and Mr Putin.
Russia said any meeting involving Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky would only happen after “concrete agreements” had been struck between negotiators from each side.
‘Ready for any format’
President Trump has expressed frustration at both Ukraine and Russia for not yet striking a deal to end the conflict.
The two sides have traded waves of massive aerial attacks in recent weeks, with Ukraine unleashing one of its largest-ever drone barrages on Russia overnight, according to the defence ministry in Russia.
“If Putin is not comfortable with a bilateral meeting, or if everyone wants it to be a trilateral meeting, I don’t mind. I am ready for any format,” Mr Zelensky said in comments to journalists that were published today.
The Ukrainian leader said he was “ready” for a “Trump-Putin-me” meeting.
Asked about Mr Zelensky’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Such a meeting should be the result of concrete agreements between the two (Ukrainian and Russian) delegations.”
The talks in Istanbul earlier this month failed to yield a breakthrough, but the two sides did agree to a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap – their largest ever exchange.
Russia has consistently rejected coordinated Western calls for an immediate ceasefire, while Ukraine has called for more pressure on Russia to accept a peace deal.
Russia’s offensive, launched in February 2022, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the destruction of large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
The Russian army now controls around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
‘Amassing’ troops
Mr Zelensky accused Russia of dragging out the peace process and of not wanting to halt its offensive.
“They will constantly look for reasons not to end the war,” he said at a press conference in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, criticising Russia for not having agreed to a location for the next round of negotiations.
Mr Zelensky also urged allies to invite Ukraine to a NATO summit in June, warning that otherwise it would be a victory for Russia.
Mr Merz said Germany will help Ukraine develop new long-range weapons that can hit targets in Russian territory. Neither leader provided specific details.
The Kremlin said Germany’s support to Ukraine would “hinder peace efforts”.
On the battlefield, Mr Zelensky said Russia was “amassing” more than 50,000 troops on the front line around the northeastern Sumy border region, where Russia’s army has captured a number of settlements as it seeks to establish what Mr Putin has called a “buffer zone” inside Ukrainian territory.
Russia’s army said it had captured another village in the Sumy region.
