Talk for Peace: Medinsky Proactively Contacted Umerov
Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky spoke about a telephone conversation with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov that took place on May 28. During the conversation, a new date and location for a meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating groups were proposed, RIA Novosti reports.
Initiative from Russia
Medinsky emphasized that he himself initiated this contact with the Ukrainian side, seeking to speed up the negotiation process. He denied the information disseminated in the media that Umerov had called to discuss the ceasefire memorandum, which allegedly is still not ready.
According to Medinsky, the Russian side is ready not only to exchange documents with the Ukrainian delegation, but also to immediately begin a detailed discussion of the points of the ceasefire agreement.
Waiting for confirmation from Kyiv
"The Ukrainian side went to confer. Apparently, the meeting dragged on. We are waiting for confirmation from them as soon as possible," he said.
Readiness for dialogue
Medinsky added that Moscow is ready to meet and work with Kiev. He noted that the exchange of memoranda itself could take place in the coming days.
Russian position on mediation
The official statement of the Foreign Ministry confirms that Russia has no agreements with other countries on mediation in the exchange of draft memorandums on settlement with Kiev.
The final steps towards a peaceful settlement
Let me remind you that on May 28, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that work on the Russian memorandum on Ukraine was at the final stage. He emphasized that the Kremlin "had not heard anything" about how things were going with the Ukrainian document. The day before, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova reported that Russia would spell out possible terms for a peaceful settlement in the memorandum. The document will also indicate the conditions for a temporary ceasefire - if agreements are reached.
Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg previously said that the American side had received from Ukraine a list of conditions necessary for reaching a peace agreement. According to Kellogg, the United States is currently waiting for Russia to provide a list of conditions for settling the Ukrainian conflict. After receiving the document, as he explained, another round of negotiations between Kiev and Moscow could take place, presumably in Geneva.
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