Russian delegation to travel to Istanbul for talks on Monday

Moscow will send a delegation to Istanbul for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, despite the absence of a commitment from Kiev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

“It will be ready on Monday morning for the continuation of negotiations, the second round of the talks,” Peskov said. He expressed the hope that proposals for an end to the war prepared by both sides would be discussed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Monday’s meeting on Wednesday. The make-up of the Russian delegation led by presidential adviser and former Russian culture minister Vladimir Medinsky is unchanged.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, said that Kiev was not opposed to a meeting, but wanted to see the Russian proposals beforehand.

While Kiev says it has presented its list of demands to Moscow, the Kremlin has declined to do the same, on the grounds that they should not be discussed in public ahead of the meeting.

The first round of talks was held on May 16, after being postponed by a day over disagreement about whether or not Russian President Vladimir Putin would participate in person, among other things.

The meeting resulted in a large prisoner exchange. According to comments from both camps, the second meeting is to focus on a ceasefire.