Ukraine keeps Russia guessing over participation in June 2 peace talks

Ukraine on Friday resisted pressure from Moscow and Washington to commit itself to attending peace talks with Russia on June 2, saying it first needed to see the proposals Russian negotiators plan to bring to the talks.

After US President Donald Trump urged Moscow and Kyiv to work together on a peace deal to end their three-year-old war, Russia proposed sitting down with Ukrainian officials next week in Istanbul.

Kyiv responded by saying it was committed in principle to the search for peace, but that it was waiting for a memorandum from the Russian side setting out their proposals, which it had still not received.

"We are ready for dialogue, but we demand clarity — clear and, most importantly, balanced proposals," the Ukrainian president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said in remarks aired on national television.

The war, the biggest on the European continent since World War 2, began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Expectations for the talks are modest because the positions staked out so far by the two sides are far apart and work between them has yet to begin in earnest on narrowing the gap.

Nevertheless, both Kyiv and Moscow are keen to demonstrate to Trump that they are on board with his efforts to end the conflict. Kyiv is seeking more US military aid, while Moscow hopes he will ease economic sanctions on Russia.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Russian delegation would be travelling to Istanbul and would be ready for talks with Ukraine on Monday morning.

"At the moment, everyone is focused on the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations. A list of conditions for a temporary truce is being developed," Peskov told reporters.

Reuters reported earlier this week that Putin's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging Nato eastwards.

Trump's envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said earlier on Friday that Russia's concern over the eastward enlargement of Nato was fair and the US did not want to see Ukraine in the US-led military alliance.

Commenting on Kellogg's statement, Peskov said: "We are pleased that these explanations by the president are understood, including in Washington."

Turkey's government hosted a previous round of Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul on May 16 — which ended with no breakthrough — and has again offered its services as a mediator.

Speaking on a visit to Kyiv, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan told reporters: "As long as [the sides\ remain at the negotiating table, progress can surely be seen."

If the talks go ahead in Istanbul, the next step would be to try to host a meeting between Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he added. But Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, who appeared alongside Fidan at a news conference, sounded a note of caution.

"In order for the next planned meeting to be substantive and meaningful, it is important to receive a document in advance so that the delegation that will attend has the authority to discuss the relevant positions," Sybiha said.

Sybiha did not spell out what Kyiv would do if it did not receive the Russian document, or set out a deadline for receiving it.

"We want to end this war this year, and we are interested in establishing a truce, whether it is for 30 days, or for 50 days, or for 100 days," he said.

Zelensky was later shown meeting and shaking hands with Fidan in Kyiv in footage released by the Turkish foreign ministry.

Russia has said its delegation at the Istanbul talks will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a Kremlin aide who led the Russian team at the previous round of talks.

Reuters