Russia to offer peace 'memorandum' to Ukraine
Russia says it has drafted a peace 'memorandum' containing its terms for ending the war in Ukraine, which it plans to present at talks in Turkey next week.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia was proposing new talks in Istanbul on Monday, June 2. Ukraine has not confirmed a meeting.
Mr Lavrov said Russia had prepared a memorandum setting out its position on 'all aspects of reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis'.
He did not give details, but Moscow has demanded that Ukraine should be barred from joining Nato and give up its claim to land annexed by Russia, which invaded its former Soviet neighbour in 2022.
Turkey this month hosted Russia and Ukraine's first face-to-face talks for three years. The two sides agreed to swap about 2,000 prisoners but there was no clear progress on ending the war.
Hopes of a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy also failed to materialise as the Russian leader declined to travel to Turkey. Mr Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow's delegation next week would again be headed by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Mr Zelenskyy accused Russia of disrespecting the talks and efforts by the US and Turkey to broker peace. He said Moscow's delegation had 'lacked any mandate to make decisions'.
US President Donald Trump has sharply criticised both leaders as he pushes them to agree a truce. After a White House shouting match with Mr Zelenskyy in February, the US leader has aimed his anger at Mr Putin in recent days as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine.
Mr Trump said on Wednesday that Mr Putin may be intentionally delaying ceasefire negotiations. 'We're going to find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not, and if he is, we'll respond a little differently,' Mr Trump said.
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