Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today that Moscow has proposed direct talks with Kiev to begin on June 2 in Istanbul, Reuters notes.
US President Donald Trump has expressed his readiness to participate in a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky. He said this to journalists during a meeting at the White House. When asked about the possibility of holding such a trilateral meeting, Trump said that he would not rule out his participation if such a need arises.
Russia offered Ukraine an exact date and place for the second round of negotiations in the coming days to exchange memoranda to settle the conflict, after which the Ukrainian side "went to consult", and Russia expects a response as soon as possible, Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin and head of the Russian delegation in the negotiations with Ukraine, told journalists, confirming his telephone conversation with the head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Rustem Umerov, TASS reported, BTA reported.
"I read the news spread by all world agencies that supposedly Umerov called me about the memorandum, which we, let's say, have not yet prepared. They say that the Russians are in no hurry. I will comment. That was almost the case. Only in reverse order. Today I called Umerov and offered him the exact date and place of the meeting to exchange memoranda. There, right on the spot, we are ready to begin a meaningful discussion on the substance of each of the points of the package agreement on the future ceasefire," Medinsky said.
"The Ukrainian side went to meet. Apparently, the meeting dragged on. We expect confirmation from them as soon as possible and we are ready to meet in person and start work on the date we have set - in the coming days. "In the interests of long-term peace and saving human life," the head of the Russian delegation added.
Meanwhile, it became known that nearly 175,000 Russian soldiers have signed contracts with the army so far this year, TASS reported, citing Dmitry Medvedev.
The former Russian president also said that more than 14,000 people have joined the army on a voluntary basis.