Zelensky has said Ukraine is ready to hold peace talks at the highest level, including a trilateral meeting with himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
16:49, Wed, May 28, 2025 | UPDATED: 17:17, Wed, May 28, 2025
Russia has reportedly offered Ukraine a date and venue for talks (Image: POOL/AFP/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia has offered Ukraine a date and place for negotiations in the coming days, Vladimir Putin's negotiator Vladimir Medinsky has said. Following a telephone conversation with Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, Russia says it’s now waiting on an answer from President Volodymyr Zelensky. Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Mr Medinsky said that Russia is ready to meet with Ukraine in person in the coming days.
The location of the meeting is yet to be confirmed, yet spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said Istanbul, Turkey, could be the city where the two sides next meet for negotiations. The first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia were held on May 16 in Istanbul, yet President Putin failed to fly in for them. The news follows Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, telling a Kremlin security summit that it would require Ukraine to revoke all “discriminatory laws” in the next round of peace negotiations.
The two sides conducted their first round of direct-talks on May 16 (Image: Getty)
He said: "At these negotiations on May 16 in Istanbul, when they resumed, we insisted on the abolition of all discriminatory laws and will continue to do so at the next round of direct negotiations, which we will announce in the very near future.
"I would like to emphasise that we have always, for many years, before the special military operation and after its beginning, proposed and continue to propose to the Ukrainian side to resolve all problems, and they are becoming more serious every year, to resolve them through dialogue and diplomacy."
The first round of direct discussions earlier this month saw an agreement of 1,000 prisoners of war to be swapped - the largest exchange since the war began. However, Ukraine’s aim of a full and unconditional ceasefire was not met.
Kyiv is refusing to concede any of Ukraine’s territory to Russia as part of the peace deal, including Crimea. Russia currently controls 20% of the country’s territory, which includes Crimea.
As part of the deal, Moscow also wants confirmation that Ukraine will not join Nato.
One senior Kyiv aide said: "The main outcome of the [May 16] talks was that Putin bought time. The fact Putin was stalling for time became obvious to everyone, but this did make President Trump unhappy. Putin will continue to tell the United States that the negotiations are being disrupted by Ukraine and the EU while he wants peace.”
The source added that President Putin will make proposals to the United States, which “is playing not only against Ukraine but also against Europe”. They said that the Russian President does not wish for the war to end, as it would be “the collapse of his rule”.
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