Latest news with #peaceaccord
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia still working on draft peace memorandum, says foreign ministry
MOSCOW, May 27 (Reuters) - Russia is continuing to work on the draft memorandum setting out the principles of a possible future peace accord to end the war in Ukraine, Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a call with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, said that Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord. Putin said the memorandum would define the principles of a possible settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement and details about a possible ceasefire. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said work was continuing on the Russian draft and that once the document was ready it would be handed over to Ukraine. "Russia continues to develop a draft memorandum on a future peace treaty, defining a number of positions, such as the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement, and a potential ceasefire for a certain amount of time if appropriate agreements are reached," she said.
Al Jazeera
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,185
Here is where things stand on Saturday, May 24: Russia has accused Ukraine of launching a massive wave of drone attacks, numbering up to 800, against non-military targets in Moscow and other regions in the last three days and said it would respond, but said it was still committed to holding peace talks with Kyiv. A Russian military helicopter has crashed near the village of Naryshkino in Russia's Oryol region, killing the crew, the state news agency TASS reported, citing the Moscow military district headquarters. The preliminary cause of the crash was a technical malfunction. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced that Moscow will be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace accord once a prisoner exchange, now under way, is completed. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters that Kyiv was waiting for Russia's proposals on the form of talks, a ceasefire and a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Sybiha, quoted by Ukrainian media, said Kyiv would be in favour of expanding such a meeting to include United States President Donald Trump. US credit rating agency Fitch has affirmed Ukraine's long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating at 'Restricted Default', as the war-torn nation continues to navigate diplomatic tensions and a significant erosion of its finances amid its grinding war with Russia. The International Monetary Fund has started a new review of its $15.5bn programme to Ukraine this week, even as the country failed to reach a deal with GDP-linked debt holders last month.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Russia to present peace accord draft after prisoner exchange, Lavrov says
MOSCOW: Russia will be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace accord once a prisoner exchange now under way is completed, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. Lavrov, in statements on his ministry's website, said Russia was committed to working out a peaceful settlement in the more than three-year-old war pitting Moscow against Kyiv. He also accused Ukraine of launching waves of drone attacks over several days on Russian targets that caused casualties and disrupted air traffic. He suggested European countries had encouraged Kyiv to launch the attacks to undermine peace efforts led by US President Donald Trump. Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, an initiative agreed in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkiye last week. 'We remain committed to a peace settlement. We are always open to let me stress that we are committed to the agreements that were achieved recently in Istanbul,' Lavrov said. 'We are working actively on the second part of the agreements which call for preparation by each side of a draft document setting out the conditions for achieving a reliable, long-term agreement on a settlement.' 'As soon as the exchange of prisoners of war is completed we will be ready to hand to the Ukrainian side a draft of such a document which the Russian side is now completing.' Lavrov said the surge of Ukrainian drone attacks — some 800 sent against Russian targets over the last three days — was 'a direct consequence' of support for Ukraine by European Union countries whose leaders visited Kyiv in recent days. 'We are certain that they will be held accountable for their share of responsibility for these crimes,' Lavrov said, referring to the European countries. 'This is clearly an attempt to disrupt peace talks and undermine progress made in Istanbul following the agreements between the presidents of Russia and the United will continue this work no matter what provocations there may be.' Lavrov's ministry earlier vowed to respond to the attacks. In Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters that Kyiv was waiting for Russia's proposals on the form of talks, a ceasefire and a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Sybiha, quoted by Ukrainian media, said Kyiv would be in favor of expanding such a meeting to include US President Donald Trump. 'We believe that this meeting could take place in an expanded format,' Sybiha was quoted as saying. 'We would like very much for President Trump to be included.' Upsurge nin drone strikes Ukraine has offered little comment on the drone strikes, though it acknowledged hitting a battery plant on Friday in Russia's central Lipetsk region. Ukraine has also accused Russia of staging periodic mass drone attacks. One such attack on Sunday, described as the largest in the three-year-old war, destroyed homes and killed one woman. Authorities in Ukraine's southern city of Odesa accused Russia of striking port infrastructure with missiles on Friday, killing two people. Prosecutors in eastern Donetsk region, the focal point of the war's frontline, said three people were killed in shelling incidents in different parts of the region.
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia says Ukraine must decide if it will discuss peace accord memorandum
MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine had to decide whether or not it would cooperate in discussing a memorandum ahead of a potential future peace accord that Moscow has discussed with the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a call with President Donald Trump, said that Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord and that efforts to end the war in Ukraine were on the right track. Putin said that discussions on the memorandum would include the principles of a settlement and the timing and definitions of a possible ceasefire, including its time frame. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that she hoped Ukraine took what she called a constructive position in relation to possible talks on the proposed memorandum for the sake of its own "self-preservation". "Now, accordingly, the ball is in Kyiv's court," Zakharova told reporters, adding that it was an important moment. She said that after Putin proposed direct peace talks with Ukraine, Kyiv's European allies had tried to prevent the resumption of direct dialogue, but that the Europeans had ultimately failed. On newly announced European Union sanctions, Zakharova said Russia would never bow to ultimatums from anyone, adding that is was clear Europe wanted to re-arm Ukraine to continue the war. Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022, triggering the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump's calls with Putin are worth nothing – no matter how much the US president enjoys them
Vladimir Putin was quick on the draw with an announcement that said nothing after his two-hour phone call with Donald Trump, as the Russian president grabbed the narrative before the Oval Office had figured out what the story even was. The call, the White House hoped, would show how much influence the US president had in the Kremlin. But they were sorely disappointed. Instead it showed that it is, again, Putin who pulls the strings. "We have agreed with the president of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord, defining a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement," Putin told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Principles of settlement? That means what happens to the land that Russia has taken and the land that it has been already claimed as its own. That includes the whole of Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kherson and Donetsk provinces. Or it might mean anywhere in Ukraine where Putin says Russian-speaking people are 'in danger' and need rescuing – like Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city. No matter that this seat of learning with its 40 universities and actual rocket scientists has steadfastly driven Russian invaders out. Putin isn't saying 'no' to the demands from around the world that he accepts an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as proposed by Ukraine and endorsed by the Trump administration. He's not saying 'yes' either – and he's yanking Trump's chain. First, said Putin, the two countries would have to define a possible ceasefire, including its timeframe. The offer is defined as 'stop shooting' and the timeframe is 'now', but the Russian leader shrugged. 'The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Putin said, after speaking to Trump. "We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace." Trump has consistently adopted Russian negotiating platforms against Ukraine. He has also supported the Kremlin in United Nations votes and frequently blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion of its neighbour. He has doggedly pursued efforts to improve Russia's economic prospects and he has used the Russian invasion to gouge a minerals deal out of Kyiv in payment for future arms support. He has also ruled out US involvement in any security force for Ukraine, even if a peace deal is one day struck. The US president has begun to understand that he's appearing feeble. When it comes to Putin he has always been weak. He's tried to butch up in social media posts but when he's got the man himself on the phone, all efforts to take control fail him. 'Just completed my two hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I believe it went very well,' he gushed, 'The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn't, I would say so now, rather than later. Russia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic 'bloodbath' is over, and I agree. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED'. Trump doesn't say that Russia's trade does not include exploiting the territories it has captured and illegally annexed. He doesn't demand a ceasefire. He clearly put no pressure on his friend in the Kremlin. 'Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately. I have so informed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine,' Trump said. Really? Volodymyr Zelensky has carefully played Trump and not rejected his manifestly pro-Russian interventions, but called the Kremlin's bluff by offering ceasefires Putin won't take. Talks are likely to get underway at the Vatican. They will lead nowhere. The EU and its non-US allies are planning to tighten oil sanctions on Russia later this week, they have already increased their own defence spending and are giving Ukraine more military aid than America. They know the calls from the Kremlin are worth nothing, no matter how much Trump enjoys them.
