Zelenskyy commented on the text of the Russian "memorandum": "This is an ultimatum"

Zelenskyy commented on the text of the Russian "memorandum": "This is an ultimatum"

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke for the first time about the so-called memorandum text that the Russian delegation handed over to the Ukrainian side during the negotiations in Istanbul on June 2. He called it an "ultimatum".

The Ukrainian president said this during a briefing in Kyiv on June 4.

"This is an ultimatum, and neither the Ukrainian side nor anyone serious will accept it, because it’s an ultimatum. So this memorandum is a misunderstanding," Zelenskyy said.

According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine sent its document to Moscow in two languages — Ukrainian and English. However, the "memorandum" from the Kremlin arrived only in Russian on the day of the negotiations. He noted that "at this moment" Ukraine has not received a response from Russia regarding the ceasefire document that Kyiv handed to Moscow before the negotiations.

The president noted that the first point of the Russian document is "maximally ultimative," as it contains a demand for international recognition of all occupied territories and the withdrawal of troops from them.

"This clearly contradicts the UN Charter, common sense, and the Constitution of Ukraine. They, by the way, know this. This is immediately the kind of demand for the greatest reward for Putin for this war," Zelenskyy says.

Zelenskyy also commented on the second point of the Russian "memorandum" — neutrality and non-entry into military alliances, particularly NATO. The president noted that Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014 when Kyiv still had a "non-aligned status."

"That is, they began the occupation at a time when we had a non-aligned status. Again, there is nothing to talk about here. So he wants this. For what? To undoubtedly take advantage of the occupation of our state," Zelenskyy notes.

He noted that Russia wants Ukraine not to join military alliances, but itself participates in such ones. In particular, the president cited the example of Russia’s participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). He pointed out that if Moscow does something, it should do it in a mirrored way.

Summarizing the discussion of the Russian "memorandum," Zelenskyy expressed the opinion that the second negotiations in Istanbul are no different from the first meeting on May 16.

"The same ultimatum things they said aloud then, here they presented it all on paper... Well, frankly, this document looks just like spam. It’s spam, just to create chaos and show that they are doing something," Zelenskyy said.

He added that the negotiations in Istanbul in 2025 have "the same content and spirit" as the negotiations in Istanbul in 2022.