On Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov invited Ukraine to take part in another round of direct peace negotiations on June 2. As of Thursday morning Ukraine has not accepted the offer, instead saying that they must see Russia’s peace proposal before agreeing to the meeting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that immediately handing over the Russian proposal is “non-constructive” – implying that it should be revealed at the peace talk.
“Here, you have to either confirm your readiness to continue negotiations or do the opposite,” Peskov said.
The Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said he had submitted Kiev’s memorandum on a potential settlement and called on Russia to produce its version immediately, rather than waiting until the proposed meeting next week.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Heorhii Tykhyi said that Russia wanting to reveal their memorandum at the meeting means that it is “likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums.”
The Russians' fear of sending their "memorandum" to Ukraine suggests that it is likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums, and they are afraid of revealing that they are stalling the peace process. If not, they must pass the document immediately, as Foreign Minsiter… pic.twitter.com/cfL8vx24Yd
— Heorhii Tykhyi (@SpoxUkraineMFA) May 29, 2025
Moscow is ready to present their memorandum, however they seek to do so at the meeting.
“Our delegation headed by [Russia’s top negotiator Vladimir] Medinsky is ready to present this memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide necessary clarifications during a second round of resumed direct negotiations in Istanbul next Monday, June 2,” Lavrov said Wednesday.
Following the initial direct peace talk on May 15, Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that Moscow and Kiev will each present a detailed vision of a possible ceasefire. Following this step the peace negotiations will continue. No concrete timeline had been set for this.
Notably, Ukraine had just received foreign support to continue its war, potentially reducing its motivation to seek peace.
Hours before Russia’s peace proposal announcement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz worked to coerce Ukraine’s Dictator Vladimir Zelensky to continue fighting with the gift of money and the promise of weapons.
On Wednesday Germany announced that it will help Ukraine develop its own long-range missiles to attack deep into Russia. The purpose of the new weapons will be to get around range restrictions imposed by countries that supply and service the current long-range missiles in Ukraine. Berlin’s Defense Ministry also announced another 5 billion euros of military aid will be sent to Kiev as well.
When range restrictions were lifted and long-range missiles were launched deep into Russia in November, it nearly sparked nuclear world war.