• Kremlin proposes June 2 as date for next talks, intends to present ‘peace memorandum’

BERLIN/MOSCOW: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday during a visit by Ukrainian President Volody­myr Zelensky that Berlin will help Kyiv develop new long-range weapons that can hit targets well inside Russian territory.

Both countries’ defence ministers later signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the production of long-range weapons systems, but without revealing technical details or naming the manufacturers involved.

“There will be no range restrictions, allowing Ukraine to fully defend itself, even against military targets outside its own territory,” Merz told a joint press conference.

Zelensky’s Berlin visit comes days after Russia launched some of its heaviest missile and drone attacks of the conflict on Ukraine. The Ukrainian president accused Russia of stalling peace talks and said Moscow did not want to halt its three-year invasion, adding that “they will constantly look for reasons not to end the war”.

Merz said that “the massive air strikes, particularly on the city of Kyiv over the weekend, do not speak the language of peace, but rather the language of a war of aggression”. “This is a slap in the face of all those who are trying to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine itself, but also in Europe and the USA.”

He warned that “the Russian side’s refusal to hold talks, the refusal to observe a ceasefire, now really has consequences, and we are drawing these consequences every day”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media when asked about Merz’s weapons announcement: “All these actions naturally hinder peace efforts.”

Merz also pointed to reports that Russia and American investors are hoping to resume Russian gas deliveries through the destroyed Nord Stream pipelines running through the Baltic Sea and vowed that Germany will “do everything” to ensure this will not happen.

New round of peace talks

Russia has proposed holding the next round of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2 with a view to achieving a sustainable peace settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

Kremlin further added that it had drafted a peace “memorandum” outlining its terms for ending the Ukraine conflict and would present it to Kyiv at the next talks.

“I would like to once again express our gratitude to our Turkish partners for providing a hospitable venue, as confirmed yesterday by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during his visit to Moscow,” Lavrov added. The last talks held on May 16 failed to reach agreement on a ceasefire, as sought by Kyiv and its Western allies.

“We hope that all those who are sincerely, and not just in words, interested in the success of the peace process will support holding a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul,” Lavrov said in a statement. Earlier on Wednesday, Medinsky said on the Telegram messaging app that he had called Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov with proposals for the date and venue of the next meeting. “Let me emphasise: right there, on the spot, we are ready to begin an essential, substantive discussion of each of the points of the package agreement on a possible ceasefire,” he said. Medinsky said he expected a reply from Ukraine.

UN statement

Russia’s military has committed “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes” in its drone attacks on civilians in Ukraine’s Kherson region, UN experts concluded in a report published on Wednesday. The commission, esta­blished by the UN Human Rights Council, said Russian armed forces were “systematically” hitting civilians.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2025