Russia Sets A Number Of Conditions For Ending War, Ukraine Expects Further Talks

Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations at the Ciragan Palace, Istanbul, Turkey. (Twitter/@HakanFidan)

JAKARTA - Russia has set a number of conditions to end the war, while Ukraine expects further talks this month, after a delegation of the two countries met in Istanbul on Monday.

Russia and Ukraine hold peace talks at the Ciragan Palace, Istanbul Turkey. The meeting, which was moderated by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, was reported to last for an hour.

In yesterday's negotiations, Russia put forward conditions to end the war if Ukraine handed over most of the new territory and accepted restrictions on the number of troops, according to a memorandum reported by Russian media.

These conditions, which were officially conveyed in negotiations in Istanbul, highlight Moscow's refusal to compromise on its long-standing war goals.

Ukraine has repeatedly rejected Russian terms because it is considered tantamount to surrendering.

Delegation of the two countries met for an hour, for the second round of negotiations this year, after negotiations on May 16 at the Domabance Palace, also in Istanbul. Previously, the delegations of the two countries negotiated in Belarus and Turkey at the beginning of the war in 2022.

However, there was no breakthrough on the proposed ceasefire that Ukraine, its allies in Europe, and Washington had urged Russia to accept.

The Russian memorandum, published by the Interfax news agency, said the settlement of the war would require international recognition of Crimea - the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 - and four other Ukrainian regions Moscow claims as its own territory.

Russia annexed Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia after holding a criticized referendum following an invasion in 2022. The announcement of the annexation was made directly by President Vladimir Putin.

In yesterday's Russian memorandum, Ukraine had to withdraw its troops from all these regions.

The memorandum also reaffirmed Moscow's demands for Ukraine to become a neutral country - rule out NATO membership - and for Ukraine to protect the rights of Russian speakers, make Russian the official language, and impose a legal ban on worship of Nazism.

Ukraine rejects Nazi accusations of being unreasonable and denies discriminating against Russian speakers.

Russia has also formalized its terms for any ceasefire on its way to a peaceful settlement, proposing two options both seem unacceptable to Ukraine.

The first option, according to the text, is for Ukraine to start a full military withdrawal from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson regions. From these areas, Russia fully controlled the first region but only controlled about 70 percent of the rest.

The second option is a package requiring Ukraine to stop re-employment of the military and accept a halt to the supply of foreign military aid, satellite communications, and intelligence. Kyiv must also lift martial law and hold presidential and parliamentary elections within 100 days.

Russia's chief delegation Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow had also proposed "special ceasefires for two to three days on several front lines" so the bodies of the dead soldiers could be collected.

According to the proposed roadmap drawn up by Ukraine, a copy of which has been seen by Reuters, Kyiv does not want restrictions on its military power after any peace deals, no international recognition of Russia's sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow forces, and compensation.

On the other hand, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the Kyiv delegation, said Kyiv - who had compiled his own peace roadmap - would review the Russian documents, which he did not immediately comment on.

Ukraine has proposed holding more talks before the end of June, but believes only a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin could resolve many debated issues, Defense Minister Umerov said.

In yesterday's meeting the two countries also agreed to exchange more prisoners of war - with a focus on the youngest and most seriously injured - and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers.

Separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described it as a great meeting. He hopes to bring President Zelensky and President Putin together with United States President Donald Trump in Turkey.