Medinsky held a meeting with Umerov prior to the negotiations between the delegations.
In a recent development, the heads of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Vladimir Medinsky and Rustem Umerov, locked horns in a lengthy discussion, lasting a whopping 2.5 hours, according to reports from RIA Novosti and Interfax.
The meeting took place in the company of Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who had previously held individual conversations with both Medinsky and Umerov.
As an Interfax insider revealed, this meeting served as the prelude to the negotiation process that followed.
The second installment of the Russia-Ukraine talks unfolded on June 2 at the Çırağan Palace in Istanbul. During the engagement, the Russian delegation presented a blueprint for conflict resolution. Kyiv forwarded its proposal to Washington and Moscow at the end of May. The parties had agreed on ceasefire conditions during the first round of talks in Istanbul on May 16.
The detailed content of Russia's conflict resolution memorandum has been made available for public perusal via rbc.group. In another twist, Medinsky announced Russia's intent to surrender 6,000 deceased soldiers' bodies to Ukraine. Simultaneously, Umerov proposed an exchange at a ratio of "6000 for 6000" for severely injured, seriously ill, and young prisoners of war. The Russian delegation also suggested a brief, two-to-three-day ceasefire on designated sections to enable commanders to retrieve bodies, citing potential epidemic risks in the "gray zone", Medinsky explained. On the other hand, Ukraine submitted a list of evacuated children and demanded their return. As Medinsky elucidated, the list includes 339 individuals. The Ukrainian side also proposed scheduling the next meeting from June 20 to 30.
It's worth noting that the Russian memorandum proposed Kiev abandon its radical nationalist course as part of a settlement solution in Ukraine, while emphasizing the importance of securing protections for Russian-speaking residents. Additionally, the document includes a condition for Ukraine to withdraw its forces from regions annexed by Russia following 2022 to enable a ceasefire[1][2]. The document was initially released in a closed setting, with publication happening after negotiations in Istanbul[2]. In essence, Russia's memorandum aims to tackle what it perceives as the core issues of the conflict, focusing on political and territorial concessions by Ukraine[1][2].
- The detailed content of Russia's conflict resolution proposal, as revealed by Medinsky, focuses on political and territorial concessions by Ukraine, including Kiev abandoning its radical nationalist course and withdrawing forces from regions annexed by Russia following 2022.
- The ongoing Russia-Ukraine talks, as reported by Interfax and RIA Novosti, have also included discussions on general-news issues such as the exchange of deceased soldiers' bodies and prisoners of war, with Umerov proposing an exchange at a ratio of "6000 for 6000" for severely injured, seriously ill, and young prisoners of war.
