Russia has proposed renewed peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul next Monday, aiming to present a memorandum for a potential settlement. However, Ukraine is insisting it must receive the proposal in advance to ensure the meeting produces tangible outcomes.
This comes amid intensified diplomatic pressure and ongoing military escalation. While the first round of direct talks on May 16 failed to deliver breakthroughs, both sides traded drone strikes and aerial assaults in the weeks that followed.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed that Kyiv has already submitted its peace terms and is awaiting Russia’s.
“Diplomacy must be substantive, and the next meeting must yield results,” Umerov said on X.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump, frustrated by Moscow’s tactics, said he would decide within two weeks whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about peace. Trump added:
“If I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t want to screw it up by imposing new sanctions.”
Russia, which launched its invasion in February 2022, currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, annexed in 2014. The Kremlin demands that Ukraine abandons NATO ambitions and cedes occupied land—conditions Kyiv deems unacceptable.
On the front line, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia is massing over 50,000 troops near the Sumy region, potentially to form a “buffer zone.”
Zelenskyy accused Moscow of deliberately stalling negotiations and continuing attacks to gain leverage:
“They will constantly look for reasons not to end the war.”
