NYT reports details of Kiev's memorandum
The two sides last met for direct talks in Istanbul on May 16, marking the first formal negotiations since 2022. The meeting resulted in the largest prisoner exchange to date, with 1,000 POWs released by each side. The parties also agreed to prepare memorandums outlining their positions on a potential ceasefire ahead of the next meeting.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed holding follow-up talks on Monday, June 2, again in Istanbul.
In an article on Friday, the NYT quoted an unnamed source as saying that the Ukrainian document includes 'provisions for a cease-fire on land, at sea and in the air, with monitoring to be carried out by international partners.'
The Ukrainian leadership had previously insisted on a 30-day pause in hostilities as a precondition for negotiations. Russia rejected that scenario, arguing that Kiev would use it to regroup its military. The NYT did not mention the timeframe in Kiev's latest proposal.
Speaking on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga accused Moscow of stalling the negotiations by refusing to share its memorandum ahead of the meeting on Monday.
That same day, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the document 'will not be made public.'
Responding to a similar demand made by Ukrainian defense minister and top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, on Wednesday, Peskov dismissed it as 'unconstructive.'
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova revealed that Moscow's memorandum includes the 'principles of settlement, a timeframe for a potential peace agreement [and] a potential ceasefire for a certain period of time.'
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that for a full ceasefire to be achieved, Ukraine must halt mobilization, stop receiving foreign weapons, and withdraw its forces from the territories that became part of Russia following referendums in 2022.
Meanwhile, in an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, urged Kiev to attend the next round of negotiations with Moscow, irrespective of whether or not Russia agrees to share its memorandum beforehand.
Speaking of the Ukrainian document, Kellogg said that he had seen it, revealing that the memorandum includes 22 terms which he characterized as 'pretty good' and 'reasonable.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
25 minutes ago
- Russia Today
Russia's messenger curbs are about protecting its people – former US military contractor
Russia's curbs on certain functions in messaging apps are aimed at protecting its people and preventing Western agencies from gaining access to communications, a former US Department of Defense contractor with US Cyber Command, Kevin Michelizzi, told RT on Friday. Earlier this week, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor announced a partial block on voice calls on Telegram and WhatsApp, citing their use by those perpetuating fraud and also the platforms' refusal to comply with the country's laws. Text chats, file sharing, and other features remain available. The Digital Development Ministry said the measure will help prevent scam calls and stressed that there are no plans to limit other functions. Michelizzi noted that many countries require data to be stored domestically or for intelligence agencies to be given access to it, and Russia's policy is no different. 'They want to protect their people,' he said. Restricting calls, he explained, could stop scammers from tricking elderly people into sending money through various schemes, such as being told a relative had been hurt. 'That's where these large sums of money come from that are being transferred to Ukraine,' he claimed. According to Michelizzi, this kind of fraudulent activity gives Western intelligence agencies an advantage. 'They can spy on whatever their own citizens are saying. They say they don't, but we know the United States does specifically,' he argued. Russia's Federal Security Service has said that Ukrainian intelligence agencies use fraud schemes and psychological pressure to recruit Russian citizens, particularly elderly women, via Telegram and WhatsApp for sabotage missions. The citizens are usually approached by people posing as Russian law enforcement, it said. Russian officials have also raised concerns over extremist and radical content being spread through messaging platforms. The government has been promoting 'digital sovereignty' and encouraging domestic firms to develop secure alternatives.
Russia Today
25 minutes ago
- Russia Today
Putin and Trump share presidential limo to Alaska summit venue
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin left together for the summit venue in the American leader's limousine after greeting each other on the tarmac at Alaska's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday. The two shook hands and walked the red carpet side-by-side before stepping into the vehicle. Putin's own limousine was waiting nearby, suggesting there had been no prior agreement for them to ride together. Putin entered first after a brief exchange, with Trump following. Footage showed them talking and smiling as the vehicle departed for the venue of their high-stakes talks. The New York Times called it 'highly unusual' for the leaders of two superpowers – much less 'adversaries' – to ride in the same car together. The men appeared to be conversing without interpreters. The summit in Alaska will address a broad range of issues, primarily the Ukraine conflict, but also bilateral Russia-US relations and possible joint economic projects, according to the Kremlin. The Russian delegation includes Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, and presidential economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who has been a key figure in the Ukraine settlement process. The US team includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt. It is the Russian president's eighth visit to the US and the first in a decade. He previously travelled to America in 2015 to attend the UN General Assembly in New York, during which he held talks with then-US President Barack Obama.
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Russia Today
Ukraine hits residential district in Russian city ahead of summit (PHOTOS)
Ukraine shelled several apartment blocks in the Russian city of Donetsk, killing at least one person and injuring three, local officials have reported. The attack came just hours before the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Alaska. Denis Pushilin, the head of the Donetsk People's Republic, said on Telegram that a woman had been killed and three other civilians wounded in a long-range strike that damaged two residential buildings and a school. Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large, earlier stated that rescue workers had retrieved one person from under the rubble in the wake of a 'strike on a multi-story residential building' in Donetsk. Russia's RIA Novosti previously claimed that an 18-year-old woman had been trapped underneath the collapsed structure. On Thursday, Russian officials reported a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on residential buildings in the border city of Belgorod and the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, which killed and wounded multiple civilians. The strikes came just days after Russia's Defense Ministry alleged that the Ukrainian leadership was preparing to stage a high-profile provocation intended to derail the summit between Trump and Putin. According to the statement, Kiev was hoping to frame Russian forces as responsible, while having Western journalists on hand to provide damaging media coverage. Last month, Ukrainian forces also launched a major UAV raid on Moscow and surrounding areas, just hours after Vladimir Zelensky proposed a third round of talks with Russia in Istanbul. In early June, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian drones had targeted military airfields in five Russian regions, just a day before the two belligerents were to hold negotiations in Türkiye. Moscow and Kiev resumed direct talks after a three-year hiatus in light of the latter's decision to unilaterally walk away from the peace process in the spring of 2022. Commenting on the escalating Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory in late May, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Kiev's actions were 'clearly at odds with the pursuit of the peace process.' Around the same time, Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of staging 'barbaric terrorist attacks' in an attempt to 'thwart the direct Russia-Ukraine talks facilitated by the US administration.'
