Ukraine to set out road map for peace at Istanbul talks, document shows

KYIV – Ukrainian negotiators at talks scheduled for June 2 in Istanbul will present to the Russian side a proposed road map for reaching a lasting peace settlement, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters.

The proposal begins with a full ceasefire of at least 30 days, to be followed by a return of all prisoners held by each side, and of Ukrainian children taken into Russian-held territory, and a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Under the blueprint, Moscow and Kyiv  –  with the participation of the United States and Europe – will work to hash out the terms on which they can agree to put a complete end to their three-year-old war, the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Ukrainian officials have said that they sent the blueprint to the Russian side in advance of the Istanbul talks.

The framework set out in the document seen by Reuters is largely the same as the terms previously put forward by Kyiv.

Those include no restrictions on Ukraine’s military strength after a peace deal is struck, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow’s forces, and

reparations for Ukraine

.

The document also stated that the current location of the front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory.

Those terms diverge considerably from demands that Russia has made publicly in the past few weeks.

US President Donald Trump has urged Moscow and Kyiv to work together on a deal to end their war, and Russia has proposed a second round of

face-to-face talks

with Ukrainian officials in Istanbul.

Kyiv said earlier last week it was committed to the search for peace, and waiting for a memorandum from the Russians setting out their proposals.

Mr Zelensky said on June 1 he will send a delegation of his officials to meet their Russian counterparts in Istanbul. REUTERS