Moscow to hand over peace memorandum to Kyiv soon

Moscow, May 27 (IANS) Moscow will send a draft peace memorandum to Kyiv soon, which will outline the key principles of a potential settlement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

"Russia continues to work on a draft memorandum regarding a future peace treaty, which will outline a number of positions, including the principles of a settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement, a potential ceasefire," Zakharova said at her weekly press briefing.

She said that once the memorandum is completed it will be sent to Kyiv, adding that Russia expects Ukraine to be preparing its own draft to send in response, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We expect that the Ukrainian side is conducting the same work and will send us its developments simultaneously with the receipt of the Russian document," Zakharova added.

She expressed that the process surrounding the agreements reached during the direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul earlier this month was "difficult" due to Kyiv's position, accusing Zelensky of trying to hinder the "emerging peaceful progress".

In a telephone call last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump agreed that Russia would prepare a draft memorandum outlining the terms for a potential peace deal with Ukraine.

On May 19, Trump and Putin held a more than two-hour phone call to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, with Putin saying he conveyed during the call that Moscow will propose and is ready to work with Kyiv on a memorandum regarding a possible peace deal.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the two countries can sign a memorandum that will include provisions for a ceasefire, noting its contents are still unknown, but that Kyiv will be able to formulate its vision on it once it receives Russia's draft.

Zakharova also commented on Trump's plan to establish a "Golden Dome" missile defence system, arguing that the project undermines strategic stability.

Last week, the US President announced he selected the "architecture" for his long-promised "Golden Dome" missile defence program, which he estimated will cost $175 billion during the next three years to create.

"This is an adventurous approach, it directly undermines the foundations of strategic stability," Zakharova said, arguing that the situation is further aggravated by the project's aim to bolster means to conduct military operations in space.

She added that this turns space into an environment for the "deployment of weapons and an arena of armed confrontation".

The perspectives of Russia and China on the issue and many other issues crucial to strategic stability either completely coincide or are highly similar, she noted, adding that resuming dialogue with the US on the matter is not yet possible because the conditions for it have not yet materialised.

Zakharova also reacted to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's remarks on Monday regarding the lifting of range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, saying Berlin will only "drive itself deeper into the hole in which the Kyiv regime it supports has long been".

"It is doubtful that the head of the German government was or is authorised by anyone to make such statements on behalf of other countries. After all, he said that this decision was made by France, Britain, and the US," he said.

She additionally accused Merz of "playing with the fate of Europe, at the very least," as well as engaging in "self-promotion".

The German Chancellor has not immediately commented on Zakharova's remarks.