Kremlin responds to Ukraine's demand for immediate ceasefire memo
Photo: Russian President's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov (Getty Images)
The Kremlin has dismissed as "unconstructive" Ukraine's demand for Russia to immediately hand over its proposed ceasefire memorandum, following a statement by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. The Kremlin recalled a possible second round of peace talks in Istanbul, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports, citing President's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
"Russia proposed on Monday to meet in Istanbul and start discussing the draft documents. Demanding something urgently or slowly is not constructive. Either confirm readiness to continue talks - or the opposite," the Russian President's Press Secretary stated.
Peskov also added that Moscow has not yet received a response from Kyiv regarding the second round of negotiations, which Russia proposed for June 2 in Istanbul.
"We suggested meeting again in Istanbul on June 2. As far as I know, there has been no reply yet," the Russian President's Press Secretary noted.
Russia's memorandum
The first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia since early in the war took place in Istanbul on May 16. Ukraine insisted that a ceasefire was the top priority, but Russia rejected the idea. At that time, the Russian delegation stated that the parties should present their visions of the ceasefire in writing.
Later, Vladimir Putin said that the Kremlin was preparing a so-called memorandum on a future peace treaty.
Ukraine was skeptical of Russia's memorandum. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would read Moscow's proposals and then respond to them.
Yesterday, May 28, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Russia had offered Ukraine a second round of talks on June 2 in Istanbul, where it would present its memorandum.
In turn, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reported that Ukraine had submitted its proposals for a ceasefire to Moscow. And Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha urged Russia to immediately submit the memorandum.
Read more about the Russian memorandum and a possible new round of talks in our material on the topic.
