"Our delegation... is ready to present this proposal to the Ukrainian delegation and provide necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, June 2", says Sergey Lavrov in a statement on Telegram.
"We hope that all those who are genuinely, and not just in words, interested in the success of the peace process will support a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul", he continues.
After direct talks in mid-May - the first between the countries in three years - the parties agreed to prepare a basis that describes each side's conditions for achieving a sustainable solution. Something the Russian side now says it has done and is ready to present.
Accused of stalling
Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov says that they are ready for new talks but notes that Ukraine has already submitted its basis in accordance with the countries' agreement. He urges Moscow to "keep its promise" to do the same now and "stop trying to make the meeting destructive".
We are not against meetings with the Russians and expect their 'memorandum' so that the meeting does not become empty and can really bring the end of the war closer", Umerov writes on X.
It was Russia's President Vladimir Putin who took the initiative for direct negotiations between the parties in Istanbul on May 16. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by proposing that he and Putin both attend.
After long hesitation, it was announced that Putin would not attend, whereupon Zelensky also opted out. Instead, the countries were represented by lower-level negotiators.
Prisoner exchange
One of the few concrete results of the first talks was a deal for both parties to release 1,000 prisoners of war. The exchange was carried out over the past weekend.
Volodymyr Zelensky, on a visit to Germany, proposed earlier on Wednesday three-party talks with the USA's President Donald Trump - who has increased pressure on both sides to end the war - and Vladimir Putin.
Such a meeting, responded Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, must be preceded by concrete agreements between the countries' negotiating delegations.
