Russia proposes to hold next round of Ukraine talks on June 2

Moscow: Russia has proposed the next round of peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

Amid speculations about the Vatican or Geneva being the possible venue for the next round of talks with Ukraine, Russia has preferred Turkiye’s Istanbul, which was the venue of earlier rounds.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Lavrov said Russia’s delegation, led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, is ready to present Ukraine with Moscow’s memorandum on overcoming the root causes of the crisis on June 2 in Istanbul, state news agency TASS reported.

“As we agreed, the Russian side promptly developed a relevant memorandum, outlining our position on all aspects of reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis. Our delegation, headed by Vladimir Medinsky, is ready to present this memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during the second round of direct talks in Istanbul next Monday, on June 2,” Lavrov was quoted as saying.

In the first round of talks lasting less than two hours, the Russian negotiators agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war from each side and prepare the memorandum of their demands to explore the possibility of a ceasefire.

In response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s demand for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would be possible if negotiators reach an agreement on a lasting peace in Ukraine.