Russia offers two options for ceasefire to Ukraine in Istanbul talks: Russian state media

Russian negotiators handed two options for a ceasefire to Ukraine during the talks in Istanbul on Monday, said Russian state media.

The RIA news agency report said the first option requires Ukraine to start a complete withdrawal of all its forces from four regions that Russia has claimed as its own territory.

The second option would be a “package” deal containing several conditions, the RIA report said.

The second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended barely an hour after they began, said Turkish officials.

The talks, held a day after a massive Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s nuclear-capable strategic bombers, began nearly two hours late with no explanation of the delay.

The Russian delegation was angry as the talks kicked off, as influential war bloggers called on Moscow to deliver a fearsome retaliatory blow against Kyiv after Ukraine targeted Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers on Sunday.

“The eyes of the whole world are focused on the contacts here,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Russian and Ukrainian delegations as they faced each other on opposite sides of the room in the Ciragan Palace.

Russia handed over a memorandum to the Ukrainian side consisting of two parts, said Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky.

“We handed over to the Ukrainian side our memorandum, which consists of two parts. The first one is about how to reach a truly lasting peace. The second part highlights the steps to be taken toward a real ceasefire,” he said.

The second part provides several options, he added.

The two options in Russia’s ceasfire proposal

The first option of Russia’s ceasefire proposal calls for complete withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Russian-claimed territories, specifically in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), as well as the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

The second option involves a series of coordinated measures, including a ban on the redeployment of Ukrainian forces, the cessation of mobilisation efforts, and initiation of demobilisation. It also seeks exclusion of any military presence by third-party countries and the halt of foreign military aid to Kyiv. Besides, Ukraine would have to cease all acts of sabotage against Russia, while both sides would grant mutual amnesty to political prisoners and release detained civilians.

The proposal includes the lifting of martial law in Ukraine and mandates that national elections be held no later than one hundred days after martial law is lifted.

The proposal envisions a gradual restoration of diplomatic and economic ties between Russia and Ukraine, mutual waivers of claims for wartime damages, and cooperative efforts to reunite families and address the needs of displaced persons.