Russia has stated that Ukraine has not yet responded to its proposal to conduct the second negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey.
According to TASS news agency on the 29th (local time), Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said during a briefing that "we suggested holding the second meeting in Istanbul on June 2, but as far as I know, there has been no response yet."
The previous day, Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, noted that he would provide a memorandum containing Russia's position on the peace agreement and related explanations during the second negotiations with Ukraine on the 2nd of next month in Istanbul. Istanbul is the location where the first negotiations between the two countries were held on the 16th.
Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's defense minister, posted on social media (SNS) that he conveyed a document reflecting Ukraine's position to the head of the Russian delegation. Andrey Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister, demanded that Russia immediately provide a copy of the memorandum.
In response, Peskov, the spokesperson, said that "the immediate demand for the release of the memorandum is not constructive," and added, "Now we need to verify whether we are ready to continue the negotiations or act contrary to that."
He stated that "the contents of the draft documents to be exchanged by both sides will not be disclosed" because "the meeting should be private, not public."
He explained that "the important thing at this point is to maintain the direct negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine," and that "we will wait for Ukraine's response and act accordingly."
Peskov, the spokesperson, noted that there are currently no plans for a conversation between Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, and Donald Trump, the president of the United States, stating that "if necessary, an agreement can be swiftly reached regarding a phone call."