Russia claims that Ukraine has yet to hear back about its request to hold another round of ceasefire talks in Istanbul next week after President Turkiye’s president urged the conflicting parties to “close the door” to dialogue.
Moscow stated earlier this week that it wanted to hold additional discussions with Ukraine in Turkey on June 2 to discuss what it termed the “root causes” of the conflict.
Moscow has not yet received a response from Kyiv, according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, who spoke on Thursday.
Peskov dismissed the suggestion that Russia should immediately hand over the memorandum as “non-constructive” when asked to comment on Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha’s suggestion.
You must either confirm your willingness to continue the negotiations or indicate the opposite, according to Peskov.
Rustem Umerov, the minister of defense in Ukraine, stated on Wednesday that Kyiv had already prepared its memorandum on a potential settlement and that it should be released right away. Umerov claimed that the meeting would not produce any results without it.
Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, claimed on X on Thursday that Russia’s reluctance to share its plan suggests that it is “likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums.”
They “are hesitant to reveal that they are stifling the peace process,” said Tykhyi.
The encounter, which was held on May 16 between officials from both sides, failed to lead to a breakthrough despite agreement and completion of the exchange of 1, 000 prisoners of war, which was agreed upon and then completed in recent days.
According to a TASS news source, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry, said on Thursday that the Russian delegation would be the same as it was for the first round of discussions with Ukraine in Istanbul.
Vladimir Medinsky, president of Russia, Vladimir Putin’s aide, Rodion Miroshnik, ambassador-at-large, and senior military and intelligence officials all joined the Russian delegation for the opening round of direct talks.
Moscow’s team’s composition in the opening round was criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “sign of disrespect” because it was a junior delegation that was not authorised to sign a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy stated on X that “Russia once more demonstrated that it does not intend to end the war.” We anticipate partners to respond clearly and decisively.
However, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan claimed that the recent fervor presented a chance for lasting peace.
More dialogue and diplomacy are necessary for a resolution, according to the author. His office stated to reporters on Thursday that we are using all of our diplomatic resources and potential for peace.
We have repeatedly reminded our interlocutors that they shouldn’t waste this opportunity during each of our meetings, Erdogan said, adding that “extinguishing this enormous fire in our region is a humanitarian duty.”
Local authorities in Ukraine reported that 90 drones were fired overnight, killing at least five people.
48 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, including 30 over the Belgorod region.
Source: Aljazeera
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