During the second round of Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, the Russian delegation handed a memorandum to Ukraine outlining conditions for a full ceasefire.
The memorandum includes a temporary ceasefire in certain regions and the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from areas claimed by Russia. Russia has proposed that temporary ceasefires last two to three days in specific regions to allow for humanitarian actions and further negotiations.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said: “We have handed over our memorandum to the Turkish side, which consists of two parts: first, how to achieve a real long-term peace. And the second part is what steps should be taken to make a full-fledged ceasefire possible. Moreover, in the second part there is even a variety of options: to enter this path or this path. The memorandum is quite detailed and worked through properly from our side. Therefore, the Ukrainian side decided to take it for study. If they study it, they will react to it, and we will see.”
At the same time, the Ukrainian president said that Kyiv had demanded the return of 400 Ukrainian children from Russia, but Moscow agreed to return only 10.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Regarding the children. We handed over a list of almost 400 children to the Russians, and they promised us to work out something in this field, up to ten children. This is what their vision on humanitarian issues looks like.”
According to Russian state media reports, Moscow’s proposal also demands that Ukraine abandon its efforts to join NATO. The proposal further calls for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from territories that Russia claims as its own.
