Key takeaways from the second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine

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Russia told Ukraine at peace talks that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum reported by Russian media.

The terms, formally presented at negotiations in Istanbul overnight, highlighted Moscow’s refusal to compromise on its longstanding war goals despite calls by US President Donald Trump to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine.

Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender.

What did the negotiations look like?

Delegations from the warring sides met for barely an hour, for only the second such round of negotiations since March 2022. They agreed to exchange more prisoners of war — focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded — and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers.

But there was no breakthrough on a proposed ceasefire that Ukraine, its European allies and Washington have all urged Russia to accept.

Russia says it seeks a long-term settlement, not a pause in the war; Ukraine says Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in peace. Trump has said the United States is ready to walk away from its mediation efforts unless the two sides demonstrate progress towards a deal.

What is Russia demanding?

The Russian memorandum, which was published by the Interfax news agency, said a settlement of the war would require international recognition of Crimea — a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 — and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them.

It restated Moscow’s demands that Ukraine become a neutral country — ruling out membership of NATO — and that it protect the rights of Russian speakers, make Russian an official language and enact a legal ban on glorification of Nazism. Ukraine rejects the Nazi charge as absurd and denies discriminating against Russian speakers.

Russia also formalised its terms for any ceasefire en route to a peace settlement, presenting two options that both appeared to be non-starters for Ukraine.

Option one, according to the text, was for Ukraine to start a full military withdrawal from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Of those, Russia fully controls the first but holds only about 70 per cent of the rest.

Option two was a package that would require Ukraine to cease military redeployments and accept a halt to foreign provision of military aid, satellite communications and intelligence. It would also have to lift martial law and hold presidential and parliamentary elections within 100 days.

Ukrainian children attend a Ukraine solidarity march in central London

Ukrainian children at a Ukraine solidarity march in central London on Sunday. Source: AAP / Andy Rain / EPA

How did Ukraine respond?

Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov, who headed his country’s delegation, said Ukraine — which has drawn up its own peace roadmap — would review the Russian document, on which he offered no immediate comment.

According to the proposed roadmap, a copy of which was seen by the Reuters news agency, Ukraine wants no restrictions on its military strength after any peace deal, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Russian forces, and reparations.

Ukraine has proposed holding more talks before the end of June, but believes only a meeting between its president Volodomyr Zelenskyy and Putin can resolve the many issues of contention, Umerov said.