Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia is ready to hand Ukraine a draft document detailing the conditions for a long-term peace agreement after the ongoing exchange of prisoners is complete.
In a statement on the Russian Foreign Ministry website on May 23, Mr. Sergei Lavrov said that Russia is committed to finding a peaceful solution to the more than 3-year conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
On May 23, Russia and Ukraine released 390 prisoners and are expected to release more prisoners in the coming days. The exchange of prisoners was agreed upon in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey last week.
"We are still committed to a peaceful resolution. We are always ready for negotiations and I would like to emphasize that we are committed to implementing the agreements that have been recently reached in Istanbul," said Mr. Sergei Lavrov.
The Russian Foreign Minister added: "We are urgently implementing the second part of the agreement, in which each side must draft a draft document, specifying the conditions for reaching a stable and long-term settlement agreement."
According to the Russian diplomat, as soon as the Prisoner exchange is completed, Russia will hand over to Ukraine the draft that Russia is finalizing.
Mr. Sergei Lavrov also accused Ukraine of conducting about 800 drone attacks in the past 3 days against Russian targets, causing casualties and disrupting air traffic.
"This is clearly an effort to sabotage peace negotiations and undermine the progress achieved in Istanbul following agreements between the Russian President and the US... We will continue to work regardless of any provincecutive actions," said Mr. Lavrov.
In Kiev, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters that Ukraine is waiting for Russia's proposal on the form of negotiations, a ceasefire and a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian diplomat said that Kiev will support expanding the meeting with the participation of US President Donald Trump. "We believe that this meeting can take place in an expanded form. We hope President Trump will participate," said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
According to Reuters, Ukraine has made little comment on the drone attacks but admitted to attacking a battery factory in the Lipetsk region of central Russia on May 23.
Ukraine has also accused Russia of regularly attacking with drones. A series of attacks on May 18 are considered the biggest attack in the conflict in the past 3 years, destroying many houses and killing 1 person.
The government of the city of Odesa, southern Ukraine, accused Russia of launching a missile attack on port infrastructure on May 23, killing two people. Prosecutors in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region said three people died in shelling incidents in several places in the region.
