Ukraine's Zelenskiy says no one has seen Russian peace proposals

30/5/2025 6:26

Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Russia was engaging in "yet

another deception" by failing to hand over its peace settlement

proposal ahead of a potential meeting between Moscow and Kyiv.



"Even the so-called 'memorandum' they promised and seemingly

prepared for more than a week has still not been seen by

anyone," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.



"Ukraine has not received it. Our partners have not received

it. Even Turkey, which hosted the first meeting, has not

received the new agenda.



"Despite promises to the contrary, first and foremost to the

the United States of America, to President (Donald) Trump: Yet

another Russian deception."



Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday

that Moscow had drafted a memorandum outlining a settlement

position in the three-year-old conflict in Ukraine.



He suggested a second round of direct talks take place on

Monday, again in the Turkish city of Istanbul.



Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has maintained good

ties with both sides, told reporters that Russia's invitaation

for more talks had heightened Ankara's hopes for peace.



"The road to a resolution goes through more dialogue, more

diplomacy. We are using all our diplomatic power and potential

for peace," Erdogan's office quoted him as saying.



In Washington, the White House said Trump, who has been

pressing both sides to move towards an agreement, hoped the

proposed meeting in Istanbul would go ahead.







KREMLIN: NO WORD FROM KYIV ON TALKS



Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow

had received no reply from Kyiv on whether it would attend

negotiations on Monday in Istanbul .



Russia, Zelenskiy said in his address, was "doing everything

to make the meetings hollow" and Ukraine's partners needed to

intensify pressure on Moscow.



Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said

that without being able to review Russia's memorandum, Kyiv

would conclude "it is likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums,

and they are afraid of revealing that they are stalling the

peace process".



When asked to comment on Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii

Sybiha's suggestion that Russia should immediately hand over the

memorandum, Peskov dismissed the idea as "non-constructive".



"Here, you have to either confirm your readiness to continue

negotiations or do the opposite," Peskov said.



Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, quoted by TASS

news agency, said the composition of the delegation to the next

meeting would be unchanged from the first round.



The Russian delegation for the first round included an

adviser to the president, a top diplomat and senior military and

intelligence officials.



Zelenskiy had proposed that Russian President Vladimir Putin

meet him at the first Istanbul session. Putin did not join,

prompting Zelenskiy not to participate and leave a delegation of

officials to represent Ukraine.