Ukraine's foreign minister accused Russia on Friday of intentionally delaying peace negotiations, highlighting that Moscow has yet to provide the promised memorandum detailing its conditions for peace. Kyiv insists on receiving this document before dispatching a delegation to the proposed talks in Istanbul scheduled for Monday.
Addressing a press briefing in Kyiv, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized that for any discussions to be constructive and effective, Ukraine must be furnished with the document beforehand. This would ensure that the attending delegation is empowered to negotiate on key issues.
This statement comes amid strategic positioning by both Kyiv and Moscow to influence the framework and pace of peace talks, while also seeking favor with the White House, which has threatened to withdraw from the negotiation process entirely.
Kyiv remains focused on achieving a cease-fire as a preliminary step before engaging in broader peace discussions. Conversely, Russia has shown little willingness to halt hostilities, instead demanding that talks address the so-called 'root causes' of the conflict—phrased by the Kremlin as broad stipulations including a pledge to halt NATO's eastward expansion, a condition viewed by Ukraine and its allies as an attempt to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty.
Both parties had committed to exchanging their respective peace proposals during an earlier round of talks in Istanbul earlier this month, which resulted primarily in a large-scale prisoner swap but little substantive progress.
Kyiv reports it has already submitted its peace terms to both Russia and the United States ahead of the upcoming discussions. However, Russia insists it will only present its memorandum during the next negotiation session, prompting Kyiv to accuse Moscow of deliberately dragging out the peace process.
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