Ready to restart talks with Russia but need clarity on terms: Ukraine

Ukraine is ready to resume direct peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on Monday, a top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, following days of uncertainty over whether Kyiv would attend a meeting proposed by Moscow, reported news agency AP.

However, Ukrainian officials have insisted that the Kremlin provide a promised memorandum outlining its position on ending the more than three-year war before the two delegations sit down to negotiate.

“Ukraine is ready to attend the next meeting, but we want to engage in a constructive discussion,” Andrii Yermak said in a statement on the website of Ukraine`s Presidential Office late Thursday.

He further said, “This means it is important to receive Russia`s draft. There is enough time — four days are sufficient for preparing and sending the documents.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine and its European allies have repeatedly accused the Kremlin of dragging its feet in peace efforts while later trying to use its larger army to gain battlefield advantages and capture more Ukrainian land.

Kyiv`s Western partners, including the US, are urging Moscow to agree to an unconditional ceasefire — something that Kyiv has accepted, while the Kremlin has continued to demand terms more favorable to itself.

However, Ukraine`s top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, told reporters on Friday that Kyiv is waiting for Russia to clarify its proposals ahead of the next round of talks.

“We want to end this war this year. We are interested in establishing a ceasefire, whether it is for 30 days, 50 days, or 100 days. Ukraine is open to discussing this directly with Russia,” Sybiha said at a joint news conference in Kyiv with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

It is worth noting that Sybiha and Fidan left the door open for a possible future meeting between Presidents Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, possibly also including US President Donald Trump. Fidan further said the ongoing peace efforts in Istanbul could culminate in such a meeting.

On the other side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that a Russian delegation will head to Istanbul and is ready to take part in the second round of talks on June 2.
Russia`s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday publicly invited Ukraine to hold direct negotiations with Moscow on that date.

In a video statement, Lavrov said Russia would use Monday’s meeting to present an outline of Moscow’s position on “reliably overcoming” what it calls the root causes of the war. Russian officials have said for weeks that such a document is forthcoming, reported AP.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov on Wednesday said that Ukraine isn’t opposed to further direct talks with Russia, but warned that they would be “empty” if Moscow fails to clarify its terms. Umerov added that he had personally handed a document outlining Ukraine’s position to the Russian side.

Low-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years in Istanbul on May 16. The talks, which lasted two hours, did not produce a significant breakthrough, although both sides agreed to the largest prisoner exchange of the war. This swap, carried out last weekend, freed 1,000 captives on each side.

Fidan on Friday also expressed his belief that the successful exchange “proved that negotiations can yield concrete results.”

“There are two paths in front of us. Either we will turn a blind eye to the continuation of the war, or we will reach a lasting peace within the end of the year,” he told reporters in Kyiv.

(With inputs from AP)