Russia says work on Ukraine peace memorandum in ‘final stages’

ISTANBUL

Russia on Wednesday said its work on a memorandum that will outline key principles to establish peace with Ukraine is in the “final stages.”

“Work is in its final stages. This document will appear soon,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in Moscow, adding that he has not heard about the progress on Ukraine’s side.

He said Russia is also preparing for the next round of negotiations with the Ukraine and that contacts will continue with the US.

The spokesman said Washington is making “considerable” efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine war, now in its fourth year, thanking US President Donald Trump for his personal mediation efforts.

On May 19, Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held an over two-hour phone call, and the two agreed that Russia will work with Ukraine on a peace memorandum.

Earlier, the two sides held first direct talks in Istanbul in three years, and decided to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, and to continue negotiations for a truce.

Peskov denied discussing the contents of the draft, saying the process should be competed in a “discrete, non-public” manner.

He said either side of the conflict will not sacrifice its national interests. “Just like the United States, Russia has its own national interests that are above all for us, and they are above all for our president."

Regarding the date of the next round of peace talks, he said no decision had been made yet.

“In order to discuss the list of conditions for a temporary truce, for a ceasefire, a position paper is being prepared. In the meantime, the ‘special military operation’ continues,” he said.

On a possible meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Peskov said such a meeting “should be the result of specific agreements between the two delegations in various areas.”