Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow has prepared a document outlining its position on ending the war in Ukraine, calling for another round of negotiations in Turkey early next week.
“With the support of the United States, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, it was possible to create conditions for the resumption of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations,” Lavrov said in a written statement. “The Russian side, as agreed, promptly developed a memorandum that sets out our position on all aspects of reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis.”
It added, “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 in Istanbul next Monday, June 2.”
The first round was held in Istanbul on May 16. Though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially rejected engaging in the Russian-proposed talks, he reversed course following public pressure from Donald Trump. Following those talks, Kiev and Moscow agreed to a prisoner swap and to exchange proposals for ending the war.
Since those negotiations, the Kremlin appears to have expanded its military objectives in Ukraine. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new buffer zone along Russia’s border with Ukraine.
“I have already said that a decision was made to create the necessary security buffer zone along the border. Our armed forces are currently solving this problem. Enemy firing points are being actively suppressed, the work is underway,” he said.
Additionally, Kiev and Moscow have recently conducted some of their largest drone and missile attacks to date. According to Russia, a Ukrainian drone swarm even jeopardized Putin’s helicopter. The Russian bombardment of Ukraine has also led Trump to criticize Putin as having “gone crazy.”
Berlin has also heightened tensions with Moscow by stating that Germany, the US and other Western countries had removed all limits on the use of their weapons and that Ukraine could now attack inside Russian territory.
A Russian official said that decision was very dangerous and could harm efforts to end the war. “If such decisions have indeed been made, they are entirely at odds with our aspirations for a political resolution and with the efforts currently being made toward a settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Quite dangerous decisions, again – if they were indeed made.”
