Russia says ready for further contacts with Ukraine

Moscow, May 20 (IANS) Moscow is ready to continue contacts with Kyiv and will propose to work on a memorandum about a potential peace deal, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Tuesday.

Zakharova said Russia has "once again affirmed its desire to achieve a final, fair settlement of the crisis," adding that progress towards a resolution of the conflict cannot be achieved without tackling the root causes.

She said it is necessary to agree on many aspects, including the main principles of the settlement, the timing of the potential peace agreement and details regarding a possible ceasefire if relevant agreements are reached.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Tuesday that Moscow and Kyiv must now prepare for contacts on the development of the joint memorandum regarding the peace treaty and ceasefire, Xinhua news agency reported. He welcomed the renewed contacts between Russia and Ukraine, saying there is no deadline for the completion of the memorandum.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation on the Ukraine crisis and recent Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.

Ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine "will begin immediately," said Trump after his two-hour call with his Russian counterpart, noting that "the tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent."

Right after his phone call with Putin, Trump posted on his social media Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine will "immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire," and work to end the conflict.

He said Russia is eager to pursue major trade deals with the United States once the conflict ends. "There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED. Likewise, Ukraine can be a great beneficiary on Trade, in the process of rebuilding its Country."

He added that the ceasefire conditions will be negotiated between Russia and Ukraine, "as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of."

However, when speaking to reporters later, Trump warned that he could back out of the negotiation process. "Big egos involved, but I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn't, I just back away, and they're going to have to keep going again," he said.

--IANS

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