Ukraine and Russia to Resume Direct Peace Talks in Istanbul on June 2

Direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv are scheduled for June 2 in Istanbul, Orda.kz reports.

The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and the Russian delegation by Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky.

According to ABC News, the national security advisers of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom may join the negotiations from the European side. The US President's special envoy, Keith Kellogg, previously stated this.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the main positions before the meeting in his Telegram channel:

First, a complete and unconditional ceasefire. Second, the release of prisoners. Third, the return of abducted children. And to establish a reliable and lasting peace and ensure security, preparation for a summit meeting.

Reuters published the text of Ukraine's peace proposals for the Istanbul talks.

Key points of the document:

• In Kyiv, they believe that the beginning of negotiations with Moscow should be a complete ceasefire - in the air, on land, at sea
  
• The unconditional return of all illegally removed children, an exchange of prisoners on the principle of “all for all,” as well as “the release of all civilian hostages held in Russia”
  
• Provide Ukraine with international security guarantees.
• Ukraine will decide for itself whether to be part of the Euro-Atlantic community and whether to move towards EU membership

It is not permitted to introduce restrictions on the number, deployment and other parameters of the armed forces of Ukraine, as well as on the deployment of troops of friendly foreign states on the territory of Ukraine,the document says.  

Kyiv also emphasizes that it does not recognize the territories occupied by Russia since 2014, and proposes considering the current line of contact as the starting point for the negotiation process.

Some sanctions against Russia may be lifted gradually, provided that the possibility of their restoration (snapback) remains if necessary. The frozen assets of the Russian Federation should either be used to restore Ukraine or remain blocked until reparations are paid to Kyiv.

The next stage should be a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin to agree on a ceasefire.

After the meeting in Istanbul, the parties should continue negotiations with the participation of the United States and Europe.

On May 16, negotiations between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul. The meeting lasted about two hours. At that time, the parties were unable to agree on a ceasefire, but they managed to reach an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange according to the formula "1000 for 1000".

The second round of negotiations in Istanbul was proposed by the Russian side. According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, it is planned to provide clarifications on the memorandum that will be proposed to Kyiv. 

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck strategic Russian bombers the day before.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova