Translated material
War
One thousand one hundred and ninety-third day. Whether Russian-Ukrainian negotiations will take place in Istanbul on June 2 is still unclear. Erdogan calls for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky “without delay”
Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. How do you feel about the ongoing war? How is it affecting you personally right now? How has your attitude to what is happening, to Russia, to Ukraine, to the world changed over these three years of war? Find the feedback form at the end of this article. A review of the previous day can be read here .
World
Erdogan calls for direct negotiations between Putin and Zelensky
Vladimir Zelensky and Recep Erdogan had a telephone conversation on the evening of May 30. According to the press service of the Turkish President, Erdogan during the conversation spoke in favor of an early meeting of the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.
He noted that Türkiye supports the continuation of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, which began in Istanbul on May 16. According to Erdogan, discussing a possible ceasefire at the second round of talks planned in Istanbul will “pave the way to peace.”
Erdogan believes that after the completion of negotiations between the two delegations, a meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and Vladimir Putin should take place. According to him, this must be done “without much delay.”
Zelensky called the conversation with Erdogan “substantive.” They discussed the first round of negotiations in Istanbul. “The exchange of prisoners is its [meeting’s] important achievement, but, unfortunately, its only one. There must be a ceasefire for further movement towards peace,” said the President of Ukraine.
He also said that he discussed with Erdogan “a possible next meeting” with representatives of Moscow in Istanbul and “under what conditions Ukraine is ready to take part in it.”
Russia offered Ukraine to hold a new round of negotiations on June 2 in Istanbul. On May 30, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrei Sibiga said that Kiev is ready to hold a new round of negotiations in Istanbul, but is still awaiting from Moscow the promised text of the memorandum with its terms of the ceasefire. Russian authorities say they will provide the document only at a meeting in Istanbul.
At the same time, Sibiga did not specify whether the meeting would take place on June 2. It is also unclear from Zelensky’s statement following the conversation with Erdogan whether representatives of Ukraine will go to the meeting on June 2. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian delegation of negotiators “is going to Istanbul and will be ready on Monday morning to continue negotiations, to the second round of these negotiations.”
The Washington Post notes that Ukraine finds itself in an "awkward diplomatic situation" where it could face pressure from Washington to force Kiev to take part in the talks in Istanbul - even if Moscow does not provide its memorandum in advance.
War through the eyes of Meduza readers
Alexandra (Moscow). In the evening, returning from work, I sit on a bench in my yard. Breathe. This is the most ordinary Moscow courtyard, nine-story buildings, lilacs are blooming, assorted dogs are frolicking in the dog park, boys are kicking a ball around in a hockey rink... At dusk, the lights come on in the windows of the houses. You can distinguish the outlines of lampshades, chandeliers, and floor lamps. Yellow, white, blue. Someone's houseplant lantern is shining pink. I sit, observe this “peaceful” life and wonder who is there behind these windows, under these lampshades. Maybe they are scrolling their feed, mourning the dead with lasting horror, cursing Putin and all the fantastic creatures who started this war. Or maybe they stared with empty eyes at the TV screen, listened to Solovyov’s nonsense and dreamed of Kherson. The one with the beagle is a Putinist, and the one with the Spitz went to Navalny’s funeral. You don’t know who your neighbor is, and you fall silent when the taxi driver starts talking about the so-called SVO . I’m sitting on a bench, smelling lilacs and imagining a rocket flying into my yard and blowing everything into small pieces: a beagle and a spitz, a Putinist and a liberal, me, a bench, this whole damn unfair world. I haven't been able to breathe this air normally for a long time. Only the smell of lilac is barely perceptible, but it seems to me that it is the smell of corpses.