Is the Putin-Zelensky meeting imminent? The Kremlin announced its position ahead of the Istanbul talks

Kremlin officials have announced that there may be significant progress in the talks on resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the parties will discuss their draft memorandums during the next talks scheduled for June 2 in Istanbul.

Peskov noted that the Russian side attaches priority to holding the talks in Istanbul, and that the discussion of the memorandum is expected to take place in both the first and second rounds.

"The Istanbul talks could be an important stage in resolving the conflict. If the parties can reach certain agreements, then there will be an opportunity to talk about a high-level meeting between Putin and Zelensky," Peskov said.

According to reports, the Ukrainian side submitted its draft memorandum to Russia before the talks and is currently waiting to receive a similar document from Russia. According to The New York Times, the main conditions of the Kiev side are:
• A complete ceasefire on land, at sea and in the airspace.
• Establish a procedure for monitoring this process by international partners.

At the same time, Russia has not yet agreed to these demands and is linking the transfer of the ceasefire document to Ukraine to certain results of the negotiations.

Peskov also said that the content of the memorandums being prepared between Russia and Ukraine will not be made public. According to him, the main task for now is to form a mutually beneficial agreement for both sides at the meeting on June 2 and to conduct the negotiations in a manner that is ready for the second stage.

It is worth noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his openness to high-level dialogue. According to him, if the Istanbul talks are successful, a face-to-face meeting with Zelensky may take place.

In short, the meeting in Istanbul may become an important stage not only for Ukraine and Russia, but also for the entire international community. The negotiation process and its results at this meeting are likely to become an important turning point on the path to global peace and security.