Ukraine, Moscow's conditions: 'Truce if Kiev withdraws'. Yes to exchange prisoners and dead

As part of the second round of talks, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, handed Kiev a detailed memorandum on ceasefire and peace and Kiev took time to study it. "The memorandum consists of two parts. The first on how to achieve real and lasting peace. The second part, on the other hand, concerns the measures to be taken to make a complete ceasefire possible," Medinsky said, adding that "the plan is quite detailed" and that "the Ukrainian side has decided to consider it." "It will study it and give an answer. We will see," he concluded. The Russian news agency Tass reports that no resumption of the talks is planned for today, and that the delegations will leave the Turkish capital. Medinsky went on to say that Russia has proposed what he called a 'concrete truce' of two or three days along certain sectors of the front only to allow the recovery of the bodies of the fallen.

According to the text of the memorandum, distributed to Russian agencies, Moscow proposes two options to Kiev to achieve a ceasefire. The first is precisely the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the territory of the four regions claimed by the Russians, and partially occupied by them: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The second option envisages, among other things, the beginning of the demobilisation of the Kiev forces, the lifting of martial law, the exclusion of the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine, the end of foreign military aid to Kiev, and the holding of elections within a hundred days after the lifting of martial law. There are also tough conditions for a political solution to the conflict. These include: international recognition that the four regions plus Crimea, annexed in 2014, belong to Russia; proclamation of Ukraine's neutrality (which would therefore renounce joining NATO); a ban on military activities in the country of other states; and the imposition of precise limits on the Ukrainian armed forces.

Volodymyr Zelensky reacted by appealing to Donald Trump to adopt sanctions against Russia to 'force' it to stop the fighting. "We really expect Trump to take strong measures," the Ukrainian president said, "We expect him to support sanctions to force Russia to end the war, or at least to move to the first phase, which is a ceasefire. The same demand he made in the morning while speaking in Vilnius at a summit of Nato countries on the eastern flank. "If Istanbul does not lead to anything we will clearly need new sanctions from the EU and the US," Zelensky had said a few hours before the second round of direct negotiations after the one on 16 May. And clearly the long-awaited memorandum certainly did not meet the Ukrainian leader's hopes. The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Defence Minister Rustam Umerov, said that in any case 'over the next few weeks' Kiev would study the memorandum delivered by the Russians during the meeting, which took place in the Ciragan Palace. However, Umerov reiterated his call for a ceasefire of at least 30 days and a summit meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is also open to Trump.

The US president "said he is open" to a summit if the two enemy leaders are ready to "come to the table together," the White House stressed. The Ukrainian side also indicated the period when the meeting could take place, from 20 to 30 June. But the Russians have repeatedly stated that a summit would only be useful after concrete results have been achieved in negotiations between delegations.

Also discussed during the meeting were the Ukrainian children whom Kiev accuses Moscow of deporting to Russia. "We have handed over a list of several hundred children," Umerov said, adding that the return of "even half" would be "a positive sign". The Russian side said it had indeed received a list of "339 names" from Kiev. But "these children were not kidnapped by anyone," Medinsky said, assuring that they were only "rescued" by Russian soldiers and that when parents or guardians are found bound, they will be handed over to them. Moscow recently returned 101 of these children to Kiev, while the other side handed over 22, the Russian negotiator added, accusing the Ukrainians of exploiting their plight only to "wring tears" from European public opinion. Before and after the talks at Ciragan Palace, the Ukrainian delegation held consultations with British, French, German and Italian officials. Italy was represented by Fabrizio Saggio, diplomatic advisor to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and his deputy, Pietro Sferra Carini. (ANSA).

After the sensational action in Russia, with the destruction of some 40 of Moscow's strategic bombers, today was the expected day to understand the room for manoeuvre to reach an agreement. Commenting on the meeting in Istanbul, Turkish President Rep Tayyip Erdogan explained that it had been 'excellent': the agreed prisoner exchange 'concerns more than a thousand people. In addition to this prisoner exchange, there is an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to exchange bodies. These figures are also very high,' the Turkish president said in an address to the nation after the Council of Ministers meeting. "My greatest wish is to bring Putin and Zelensky together in Istanbul or Ankara. Also with Trump. I would also attend the meeting so that Istanbul can become a centre of peace," Erdogan added, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu. "Despite yesterday's incident, the fact that the meeting took place is in itself an important success," he said.