Ukraine demands Russian cease-fire details before Monday peace talks
Ukraine said Friday it will not send a delegation for peace talks to Istanbul Monday until Russia provides details of its ceasefire proposal. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of stalling in peace negotiations. Zelensky (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for an official photo prior to their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, May 15. Photo courtesy of Turkish Presidential Office/EPA-EFE
May 30 (UPI) -- Ukraine said it will not send a delegation for peace talks to Istanbul Monday until Russia provides details of its cease-fire proposal.
Ukraine accused Russia, which has said it will send a delegation to Istanbul for the talks, of stalling in peace negotiations.
"Russia is dragging out the war and doing everything to simply deceive countries that are still trying to influence Moscow with words, not pressure. Words with Moscow do not work. Even the so-called "memorandum" that they promised and supposedly prepared for more than a week has not yet been seen by anyone," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video posted to the presidential website.
During a joint press conference with Turkey's foreign minister, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia must accept an unconditional cease-fire.
Ukraine has sent cease-fire proposal details to Russia.
"We are interested in seeing these meetings continue because we want the war to end this year," Sybiha said.
The Monday Istanbul meeting will not include Zelensky or Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Russian cease-fire proposal memo will be delivered at the Monday Istanbul meeting.
He said it will focus on overcoming what he termed the "root causes" of the war.
Lavrov proposed a second round of Istanbul talks for June 2. Ukraine has not yet committed to that proposed meeting.
"They are doing everything to make the meetings empty. And this is another reason to have sufficient sanctions - sufficient pressure on Russia," Zelensky said of Russia.
The United States, France, Germany and Britain are all sending security advisors to the Monday Istanbul talks as Ukraine awaits details from Russia about its cease-fire proposal.
Ukraine's position is that it must see details of the Russian cease-fire proposal before the next peace talks session happens.
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