Kremlin keeps quiet on Ukraine war compromise memorandum
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to questions about whether Russia is prepared to make “some compromises” in a memorandum to end the war in Ukraine, Russian state news agency TASS reported on June 3.
The memorandum submitted by Russia during the second round of peace talks with Ukraine proposes the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from temporarily occupied territories, the demobilization of Ukraine’s military, and a declaration of neutral status, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Peskov said the draft document is “aimed at eliminating the causes of the conflict in Ukraine” — language the Kremlin uses to describe its full-scale invasion — and achieving a “sustainable settlement.”
He added that potential compromises on the points outlined in the document “are a topic for negotiations that cannot be public.”
The second meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in Istanbul on June 2 and lasted just over an hour, according to Russian media reports. As in the first round on May 16, the Russian delegation was led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Vladimir Putin. Ukraine’s delegation was headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
Following the talks, Umerov said both sides agreed only on a new phase of prisoner exchanges. He said Ukraine had proposed a complete ceasefire and a meeting at the leadership level. Kyiv is now waiting for Moscow’s response to the summit proposal by the end of the month.
Umerov also noted that each side has a week to review the memoranda they exchanged. Ukraine submitted its memorandum in advance, while Russia withheld its document until the Istanbul meeting.
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