Russia confirms participation in Istanbul talks with Ukraine draft memorandums on agenda

Russia has confirmed that a second round of negotiations with Ukraine will take place in Istanbul on June 2, with both sides expected to present and discuss their draft memorandums, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

“Of course, nothing will be made public, it cannot be made public. Both draft memorandums - both the Russian and Ukrainian ones, as we hope, will be discussed at the second round of negotiations, for which the Russian delegation will be ready on Monday morning [June 2] in Istanbul,” Peskov told reporters during a briefing, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Addressing broader geopolitical questions, Peskov said Moscow was open to dialogue with European representatives on regional security, but clarified that the June 2 meeting would focus exclusively on Russian-Ukrainian direct discussions.

“One way or another the future of European security needs to be discussed with Europeans. We cannot do without it. But with regard to Monday's meeting in Istanbul, we are talking precisely about direct Russian-Ukrainian talks,” he said.

Peskov also reiterated Russia's longstanding concerns about NATO’s eastward expansion, noting that President Putin has consistently communicated these concerns to international interlocutors, including US representatives.

“We are pleased that these explanations of the president find their understanding, including in Washington,” Peskov said, commenting on recent remarks by US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg, who acknowledged Russia’s strategic concerns as well-founded.

While welcoming Washington’s mediation role, Peskov stressed the importance of conducting such discussions behind closed doors rather than through the media. “We believe it is necessary to do this in the course of closed contacts,” he said.

He noted that Kellogg’s recent statements could be seen as a product of such private negotiations and reiterated that President Putin supports high-level contacts, provided they are properly prepared and follow concrete progress at the delegation level.

“President Putin has said repeatedly that in principle he is ‘in favour’ of high-level contacts, of course they are in demand. But they must be prepared, and first a result must be achieved at the talks between the delegations, at direct talks between the delegations of the two countries. After that, if and when such a result is achieved, then, of course, we can talk about high-level contacts,” Peskov told reporters.

The first direct talks in several years between Ukraine and Russia took place in Türkiye on May 16. During those negotiations, both delegations reached an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange under a “1000-for-1000” scheme, which was carried out in three stages over the past weekend.

Russia has also announced that it is preparing its own memorandum outlining its vision for a ceasefire following the initial round of discussions, but is yet to deliver it despite Putin's promise to do so following his last call with Trump. The Kremlin claims the document is nearly finished. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed new talks with Ukraine on June 2 in Istanbul, where he said the memorandum would be presented.

By Sabina Mammadli