Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, announced on May 28 (local time) that the next round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would be announced soon.
According to RIA Novosti, Minister Lavrov stated at the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues held in Moscow, Russia, that day, "At the negotiations in Istanbul on the 16th, we demanded the abolition of discriminatory laws in Ukraine, and we will continue to do so in the next direct negotiations, which will be announced soon."
After a meeting with Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister, the previous day, Minister Lavrov also expressed his hope that the second round of negotiations would be held in Istanbul.
Keith Kellogg, the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine, commented on the location of the second round of negotiations, saying, "We wanted to hold it at the Vatican, but Russia did not want this," and added, "It will probably be (in Switzerland) Geneva." However, TASS reported, citing sources, that Geneva is unlikely because Switzerland has lost its neutrality.
Minister Lavrov also explained Russia's demands for peace in Ukraine. He said, "The root cause of the conflict in Ukraine is related to the policy of drawing Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)," and argued that the United States and Europe had assured the Soviet Union and Russia that there would be no eastward expansion of NATO, but this was not kept, which triggered the crisis. He further stated that reviving the promise to maintain Ukraine's neutrality, non-aligned status, and non-nuclear status, and including this in the Ukrainian constitution, are Russia's core demands.
Minister Lavrov expressed concern over NATO's increased troop deployments along the entire Russian border, saying, "After Sweden and Finland, which were neutral countries, were admitted as NATO allies, this border has become much longer, and it is unclear why they could not be satisfied with neutrality." He also added that he is concerned about the establishment of NATO military facilities in the Asia-Pacific region.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, stated that Russia is preparing for the next round of negotiations and that the draft memorandum to be presented to Ukraine is in its final stages, according to TASS, which cited local media outlet Izvestia. Separately, he told TASS, "The draft memoranda submitted by both sides will be made public soon," and explained, "This will pertain to the next round of negotiations."
Russia announced that during the Istanbul negotiations on the 16th, it had agreed with Ukraine to present their respective visions regarding the possibility of a ceasefire. Subsequently, on the 19th, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, proposed drafting a memorandum related to a future peace agreement with Ukraine.
Spokesperson Peskov, regarding reports that Russia is demanding written guarantees of Ukraine's neutrality, stated, "We will not discuss the contents of documents that have not yet been agreed upon," and pointed out that inaccurate or false speculation is rampant.
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