Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed holding new peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday 2 June, but re-emphasised the Kremlin’s demands that Ukraine must withdraw from regions of its territory claimed by Moscow and remain a neutral country outside NATO.
During a press appearance and according to Ukrainian media reports, the Russian foreign minister said that Russia has prepared a ‘peace memorandum’ setting out its terms for ending the war, proposing to present it to Ukrainian representatives ‘and provide the necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks on Monday 2 June in Istanbul’.
The Russian foreign minister explained that the resumption of direct negotiations with Ukraine came about ‘thanks to the initiative of US President Donald Trump’ and the ‘active support’ of Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as the leaders of Saudi Arabia. However, Lavrov made it clear that at the 16 May meeting in Istanbul ‘we insisted on the abolition of all discriminatory laws in Ukraine, and we will continue to demand it at the next one as well’.
‘NATO’s eastward expansion triggered the Ukrainian war‘
The Russian politician also stressed that peace negotiations will not succeed without addressing fundamental Russian demands such as limits on NATO expansion and blocking Ukraine’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance: ‘Negotiations are better than war. But to succeed, the root causes must be eliminated. NATO’s eastward expansion triggered the crisis in Ukraine and undermined security in Europe,’ Lavrov said, insisting that Ukraine must be a neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear country, terms already raised by Russia at the 2022 negotiations in Istanbul.
For the moment there has been no official response from the Ukrainian government to the proposal launched in the last few hours by Lavrov, although it is to be expected that Kiev will refuse to accept Russia’s demand to withdraw from the territories it still controls in the regions claimed by Moscow: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Another Russian demand – a halt to NATO’s eastward expansion – would mean not only leaving Ukraine out of the Alliance, but also countries such as Moldova and Georgia, which fear Russia’s territorial ambitions. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also demanding the lifting of sanctions, the return of frozen Russian assets and the protection of Russian speakers in Ukraine.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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