For next meeting in Istanbul to be meaningful, it is important to receive "memorandum" from Russia in advance - Sybiha
The Russian side should submit its "memorandum" on the ceasefire in advance so that the next talks in Istanbul can be effective and the Ukrainian side has the authority to discuss its positions.
According to Censor.NET, citing Ukrinform, this was stated by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Kyiv.
"We are interested in continuing these meetings (with the Russian delegation in Istanbul - Ed.) because we want to end the war this year, and we are interested in establishing a truce - either for 30, 50 or 100 days. Ukraine is open to discussing this directly with Russia - we have confirmed this during the ceasefire," the minister stressed.
Sybiha noted that Ukraine was waiting for a memorandum from the Russian side, as announced.
"We are waiting for it in advance. This was also promised to the American side. Therefore, in order for the next meeting to be substantive and meaningful, it is important to receive the document in advance so that the delegation that will go (to the talks) has the authority to discuss the relevant positions," he explained.
The minister stressed that Ukraine has accepted the US proposal on a ceasefire and noted that "the ball is now in Russia's court".
"Russia should now accept the unconditional ceasefire, which will open the way for further broader negotiations on our peace efforts to bring a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace to Ukraine. Therefore, we need to put pressure on Russia to hear a clear ‘yes’ to the ceasefire from them," Sybiha added.
As a reminder, the day before, Ukrainian Defense Minister and head of Ukraine’s delegation in talks with Russia, Rustem Umerov, announced that he had handed over Ukraine’s vision for a ceasefire to the Russian side.
Subsequently, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged the Russian side to promptly submit its own "memorandum" with ceasefire proposals to Ukraine.
In turn, The Kremlin said that the demand of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to hand over the so-called "memorandum" was "not constructive".
