Moscow will only agree to a full cease-fire if Ukrainian forces withdraw from the four regions partially occupied by Russia, according to a copy of a negotiating document published Monday by state news agencies.
The memorandum was handed over to Ukraine during the second round of talks in Istanbul, and confirmed Russia's claims to the four partly occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Russia handed over a two-part memorandum to Ukraine via Türkiye for a cease-fire and an end to the war, according to Moscow's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.
"The plan is quite detailed," Medinsky said in Istanbul. The first part contains Moscow's ideas for achieving lasting peace. The second part lists, in various versions, steps to achieve a complete cease-fire.
He said the Ukrainians were now examining the plan. "They are studying it and will respond. We will see," Medinsky said after the talks, which lasted about an hour. He did not provide any specific details about the Russian memorandum. The Ukrainian side continues to demand an unconditional cease-fire for 30 days in order to then negotiate without fighting.
Medinsky also confirmed plans for another prisoner exchange, similar to the one in May, in which at least 1,000 people on each side are to be released. In addition, 6,000 bodies are to be exchanged. To this end, there will be a short ceasefire of two or three days on various sections of the front line so that both sides can recover their dead. "This is now being worked out by our military and Ukrainian experts," Medinsky said.
Russia has also received a list of 339 children whom Ukraine wants back, Medinsky said. The cases are now being reviewed. Children and their parents are to be reunited, he said.
The talks in Istanbul were the second round of direct negotiations after a failed first round in May. The last such direct negotiations on ending the war took place in 2022.
