Ukraine says it wants to see a document detailing Russia’s proposed terms for a ceasefire before sending a delegation to Istanbul for bilateral talks next week, while the Kremlin said it expected the two sides to discuss truce conditions at the planned meeting.
“For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear, and the negotiations must be properly prepared,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X after meeting Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for talks in Kyiv.
“Unfortunately, Russia is doing everything it can to ensure that the next potential meeting brings no results,” he added, citing the lack of proposed terms from Russia.
Kyiv has said the reason Moscow hasn’t supplied the document is that it likely contains maximalist ultimatums that are red lines for Ukraine.
Speaking earlier at a news conference in Kyiv on Friday, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha did not confirm that Ukraine would take part in the talks that Russia has proposed to take place on June 2, saying his side needed assurances the Kremlin was genuine about wanting to end the war.
“In order for the next planned meeting to be substantive and meaningful, it is important to receive a document in advance so that the delegation that will attend has the authority to discuss the relevant positions,” he said.
He said Ukraine had not received any such document outlining Russia’s proposals so far.
The two sides previously met in Istanbul on May 16 for their first direct talks in more than three years. The talks ended in less than two hours, failing to yield a breakthrough on a ceasefire. The warring sides did agree on an exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war each, which later took place, and agreed to swap documents outlining possible roadmaps to peace.
Ukraine expressed disappointment after the talks, with Zelenskyy saying it was a “sign of disrespect” that Russia had sent a junior delegation that was not authorised to sign a ceasefire.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on X on Thursday that Russia’s delay in sharing its ceasefire proposal suggested that it was “likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums”.
Speaking at Friday’s news conference alongside the visiting Fidan, Sybiha said Kyiv wanted to end the war.
“We want to end this war this year, and we are interested in establishing a truce, whether it is for 30 days, or for 50 days, or for 100 days,” he said.
“Ukraine is open to discussing this directly with Russia. We confirmed this during the last meeting of our delegations with the Russian side.”
Turkiye proposes leaders’ summit
Fidan suggested that a meeting between Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump, under the direction of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, could follow next week’s talks, if they went ahead.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said any such meeting could only take place if results were achieved in the bilateral negotiations.
He said both sides’ proposals for an agreement would be discussed in Istanbul, and the details would not be made public.
Erdogan, in a call to Zelenskyy, reiterated that a second round of talks could will pave the way towards peace and that both countries needed to send strong delegations to Istanbul, according to the Turkish presidency.
In the meantime, Trump ally, US Senator Lindsey Graham, said on a visit to Kyiv on Friday that the Republican-led US Senate is expected to move ahead with a bill on sanctions against Russia next week.
Graham, who met Zelenskyy during his Kyiv trip, said he had talked with Trump before his visit, and the US president expects definitive actions now from Moscow.
Graham accused Putin of trying to drag out the ceasefire and peace process and added he doubts the Istanbul meeting will amount to more than a “Russian charade”.
