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Service members of pro-Russian troops, including fighters of the Chechen special forces unit, stand in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 21, 2022. — Reuters
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MOSCOW: Russia has called for second -round peace talks with Ukraine in hopes of meeting in Istanbul next Monday. However, Ukraine is suspected of Russia’s real intentions and wants to see his peace proposal in advance.
Kiev has said that it is open for dialogue, but only if Russia is serious and ready to make real progress.
Despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts, tensions are high on the ground.
Diplomatic efforts to end the three -year conflict have shown rapid progress in recent months, but Moscow has repeatedly rejected unconditional ceasefire calls and has shown no signs of withdrawal from its maximum demands.
The two sides last met in Istanbul on May 16 – their first direct conversation in three years – but the meeting failed to make any progress.
US President Donald Trump, who is pushing for a peace deal, has been disappointed with Moscow’s clear interruption and warned Wednesday that he would decide whether Vladimir Putin was serious about ending the war.
Ukraine said it had already submitted its peace conditions to Russia and insisted that Moscow should do the same.
“We are not opposed to more meetings with the Russians and look forward to their memory,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Amr, who represented Kiev in a post on X on X.
“The Russian party has at least four days of their departure that gives us their documents to review. Diplomacy must be, and the results will be found in the next meeting.”
The Moscow attacks, launched in February 2022, have caused tens of thousands of deaths and destroyed large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
The Russian military now controls the fifth region of Ukraine, including the Kremlin, which it affiliated with in 2014.
‘Very disappointed’
Russia said he would present a “memorandum” to outline his terms of peace on Monday, and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had informed US counterpart Marco Rubio about the proposal.
Lavrov said in a video statement, “Our delegation led by Vladimir Mednsky is ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide necessary explanations during the second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, June 2,” Lavrov said in a video statement.
Russian political scientist and former Minister of Culture Mandinski led the Russian negotiating team during earlier talks in Istanbul on May 16.
Both sides have exchanged heavy air strikes in recent weeks. Ukraine launched its biggest drone strike on Russia overnight, while Moscow hit the Ukrainian cities with deadly missile barrages.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that he was “very disappointed” with Russia’s deadly attacks during peace efforts, but refused to impose further sanctions on Moscow.
“If I think I’m close to getting a contract, I don’t want to do it by doing so,” he said.
Earlier, the Kremlin rejected Ukrainian President Zillsky’s call for a three -way summit with Trump and Putin.
Moscow said any meeting associated with Russian President Putin and Zillski will be only after the “solid agreements” between negotiators from both sides.
In exchange for peace, the Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine abandoned the purpose of joining NATO and already abandoning Russian -controlled territory – Kiev declared unacceptable.
Russia is looking for ‘reasons’
A conversation in Istanbul earlier this month resulted in a 1,000 prisoner exchange for 1,000, and both sides agreed to work on peace proposals.
But Russia has continued its deadly attacks on Ukraine and refused to consider the ceasefire.
Zilnski on Wednesday accused Russia of deliberately delaying the peace process and having no real desire to stop the war.
“They will be permanently looking for reasons for not ending the war,” he said at a press conference in Berlin along with German Chancellor Frederick Mirza.
On the battlefield, Zillsky said Russia is removing more than 50,000 troops near the frontline in the northeastern Sami Border region, where Moscow forces have occupied several settlements in which Putin describes Putin as a “buffer zone” in the Ukraine area.
