Moscow, May 28, 2025. Russia has proposed a second round of direct talks with Ukraine to be held in Istanbul on Monday, June 2nd. This proposal includes the delivery of a "memorandum" outlining Moscow's conditions for a lasting peace agreement.
According to a statement by Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov, the Russian delegation, led by Vladimir Medinski, is prepared to present the memorandum and provide necessary explanations. Kiev has not yet responded to this initiative. The first direct peace negotiations between the two countries since the start of the large-scale Russian offensive in 2022 took place on May 16th in Istanbul.
While the May 16th talks did not yield significant progress towards a diplomatic resolution, both sides agreed to an unprecedented prisoner exchange of 1,000 people for 1,000 people, which concluded last weekend. Lavrov expressed hope that those genuinely interested in the success of the peace process would support the upcoming negotiations, thanking their "Turkish partners."
Lavrov had previously stated that Moscow was drafting the memorandum and planned to deliver it to the Ukrainian government soon. Currently, the official positions of both sides appear difficult to reconcile. Russia demands that Kiev permanently renounce joining NATO and cede the five regions whose annexation it claims, conditions that are unacceptable to Ukraine.