Ukraine-Russia 2nd Negotiation on Next Month 2nd, Trump "2 Weeks" Observation Announcement

[Financial News] The Russian government proposed to Ukraine to hold the second peace talks on the 2nd of next month (local time) following the first peace talks this month. U.S. President Donald Trump, who criticized Russia's negotiation stance, announced that he would observe Russia's will for peace for two weeks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 28th that the Russian delegation is ready to resume the second direct negotiations in Istanbul, Türkiye, on the 2nd of next month and present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation. Lavrov forecasted that the Russian delegation, led by Vladimir Medinsky, Kremlin aide, would provide the necessary explanations related to the memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation.
Russia resumed peace talks with the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul on the 16th, for the first time in about three years since the negotiations in March 2022, right after the invasion of Ukraine. The two sides did not reach an agreement in the talks on the 16th and only proceeded with a prisoner exchange. Trump, who is mediating the ceasefire, called the leaders of both countries on the 19th. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in the conversation that he would present a memorandum outlining the framework for a peace agreement, including the possibility of a ceasefire and principles for resolving issues.
Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian Defense Minister leading the Ukrainian delegation in the peace talks, posted on social media X on the 28th, stating, "We do not oppose additional meetings with Russia and expect the memorandum." On this day, Medinsky from the Russian delegation called Umerov and proposed the date and location for the next meeting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who demanded high-level talks from the first negotiations this month, emphasized in an interview on the 27th, "We are ready for high-level meetings." He said, "We are prepared for any meeting, whether it is a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin simultaneously or a meeting where each country's leaders meet separately and then gather together." After the statement on the 28th, Lavrov communicated with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Lavrov informed about the preparations for the Istanbul meeting next month, and Rubio stated that the U.S. is ready to facilitate Ukraine's peace negotiations.
Trump, who criticized Russia's drone attack this month, said he would observe Putin's actions. Trump expressed dissatisfaction, saying Putin was "crazy" when Russia launched a massive drone attack on Ukraine on the 25th, right after the peace talks. When asked if he still believes Putin wants an end to the war during a meeting with reporters on the 28th, Trump replied, "I can't say." He added, "But I will tell you in about two weeks," and "We will quickly figure out if he is deceiving us, and if so, we will respond in a slightly different way."
When asked if he could directly engage in peace negotiations with Putin and Zelensky, Trump replied, "If necessary, we must. I think we are at that stage now." Regarding additional sanctions against Russia, Trump said, "If I think we are close to an agreement, I don't want to ruin it with that (sanctions)," and "You have to know when to use it if you don't want to ruin the deal."



pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter