The Russian international minister and the US secretary of state spoke by telephone on Wednesday
Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov mentioned the Ukraine peace negotiations throughout a telephone name with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.
Based on the Russian Overseas Ministry, Lavrov briefed Rubio on “concrete proposals for the following spherical of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.”
“Each side affirmed their intent to keep up constructive and respectful dialogue,” the ministry stated in a press release on its web site.
US State Division spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stated that Rubio “welcomed Russia and Ukraine’s change of ‘1,000-for-1,000’ prisoners over the weekend.”
“The secretary reiterated President Trump’s requires constructive, good-faith dialogue with Ukraine as the one path to ending this battle,” Bruce added.
The dialog occurred as US President Donald Trump intensified his rhetoric towards Russia, accusing President Vladimir Putin of “enjoying with hearth.” He stopped quick, nonetheless, of imposing new sanctions – one thing he advised might nonetheless occur if peace talks stall. “We’re going to seek out out whether or not or not [Putin is] tapping us alongside, and if he’s, we’ll reply just a little otherwise,” Trump stated on Wednesday.
Russia and Ukraine held their first direct negotiations in three years on Could 16 in Istanbul, agreeing to hold out a serious prisoner swap and to every draft a memorandum outlining their phrases for a possible ceasefire. The change was performed in a number of phases and concluded final week.
Whereas Kiev has stated it shared its memorandum with each Moscow and Washington, the Kremlin acknowledged on Wednesday that it’s “finalizing” its model of the doc. Lavrov proposed holding the following spherical of talks in Istanbul on June 2. Russia’s lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, has rejected Ukraine’s claims that Moscow is stalling the method.
Ukraine has backed Trump’s proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Nonetheless, Russia has acknowledged that, for a full ceasefire to be achieved, Ukraine should halt mobilization, cease receiving international weapons, and withdraw its forces from Russian territory. Moscow additionally insists that Kiev should abandon its plans to hitch NATO and formally acknowledge Crimea and 4 different areas as a part of Russia. The Kremlin has described NATO’s growth as one of many “root causes” of the battle – a problem it says have to be addressed within the ongoing talks.
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