President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia is engaging in "another deception" by not submitting its proposal for a peace settlement ahead of a possible meeting between Moscow and Kiev.
"Even the so-called 'memorandum' that they promised and apparently prepared for more than a week has not yet been seen by anyone," Zelenskyy said in a live video broadcast yesterday evening.
"Even Turkey, which hosted the first meeting, has not yet received the new agenda," he said, according to A2 CNN.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow had drafted a memorandum outlining its position on resolving the conflict.
He suggested that a second round of direct talks take place on Monday, again in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
The composition of the delegation will remain unchanged from the first round, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, quoted by the TASS news agency.
Russia was sharply criticized for sending a group of young officials to that meeting with unrealistic demands on Ukraine.
Analysts say the Kremlin is trying to hinder the peace process in order to continue to achieve breakthroughs on the battlefield, while keeping the US on its side by not abandoning it completely.
Zelenskyy had challenged Putin to meet with him at the first session in Istanbul, but this was rejected, writes A2 CNN.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that Moscow had not received any response from Kiev on whether it would participate in Monday's negotiations.
Zelenskyy said that Russia was "doing everything to make the meetings futile" and that Ukraine's partners needed to intensify pressure on Moscow. (A2 Televizion)
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