The Russian Federation has refused to hand over its memorandum regarding the conditions for a ceasefire to Ukraine ahead of the scheduled meeting of the parties. This position was stated by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Georgiy Tikhiy, who emphasized that such behavior may indicate the presence of unrealistic demands in the document.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Ukraine Demands Transparency in Negotiations
Georgiy Tikhiy stated that the Russian side is afraid to reveal its true intentions, as their memorandum likely contains ultimatum and unfeasible conditions. He stressed that if this is not the case, Russia should immediately provide the document and stop dragging out the negotiations, which only undermines trust in the peace process.
“The fear of the Russians to send their ‘memorandum’ to Ukraine indicates that it is likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums, and they are afraid to reveal that they are hindering the peace process,” Tikhiy wrote on social media platform X.
Recently, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga also called on the Russian side to act similarly. His statement came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced the completion of work on the memorandum and proposed to hold a second round of negotiations in Istanbul on June 2.
Positions of the Parties and Progress of Negotiations
According to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian side has already provided Russia with its document outlining its position on the ceasefire. Meanwhile, the Kremlin described the proposal from the Ukrainian side as “unconstructive” and refused to disclose the content of its demands, insisting that negotiations should take place not publicly, but in a closed format.
The previous meeting between Ukraine and Russia took place on May 16 in Istanbul. At that time, the parties did not achieve significant progress; however, they managed to agree on a large-scale prisoner exchange at a ratio of one thousand to one thousand, which was implemented on May 25.
These negotiations were the first in the last three years. Ukraine insists on a 30-day ceasefire, but Russia continues to demand recognition of its sovereignty over four Ukrainian regions, none of which are fully under the control of its forces. This is the main condition Moscow puts forward for starting discussions on halting hostilities.