Russia to submit its ‘memo,’ Ukraine to respond to their proposals – Zelenskyy
During the meeting in Istanbul, Russia was not ready for a ceasefire. The Russians should submit their so-called "memorandum" in response to the demand for an unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine will review the Russian proposals and respond accordingly, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We support an unconditional ceasefire and a transition to diplomacy. In any format, composition, or location in the civilized world, we emphasize again that we are willing to meet with Russia in direct negotiations or with the mediation of America, Europe, etc. Russia set the appropriate conditions in Istanbul, and we agreed to the exchange of thousands of people. This is a good result," Zelenskyy said during a conversation with journalists on May 27.
According to the president, "Russia was not ready for other steps on the agenda of the Istanbul meeting, I mean a ceasefire." He added that the Russians were simply not ready for this, and announced that they would return with some signals. The same was conveyed to Ukraine by the United States, and the Turkish side also recorded this during the negotiations.
"On our side was Defense Minister Umerov, who communicated with Mr. Medinsky of the Russian delegation. Russia said: We will give you something called a memorandum. The memorandum will detail the next steps Russia sees as necessary, as well as its ability to support a ceasefire and a meeting of state leaders. We will consider their proposals and respond in detail," Zelenskyy stressed.
