Exclusive-Ukraine to set out roadmap for peace at Istanbul talks, document shows

By Tom Balmforth

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian negotiators at talks scheduled for June 2 in Istanbul will present to the Russian side a proposed roadmap for reaching a lasting peace settlement, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters.

The proposed roadmap begins with a full ceasefire of at least 30 days, to be followed by the return of all prisoners held by each side, and of Ukrainian children taken into Russian-held territory, and then a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Under the blueprint, Moscow and Kyiv -- with the participation of the United States and Europe -- will work to hash out the terms on which they can agree to put a complete end to their three-year-old war, the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.

Ukrainian officials said earlier this week that they had sent the blueprint to the Russian side in advance of the Istanbul talks.

The framework Ukrainian terms for a peace deal as set out in the document seen by Reuters are largely the same as the terms previously put forward by Kyiv.

Those include no restrictions on Ukraine's military strength after a peace deal is struck, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations for Ukraine.

The document also stated that the current location of the front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory.

Those terms diverge considerably from demands that Russia has made publicly in the past few weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Moscow and Kyiv to work together on a deal to end their war, and Russia has proposed a second round of face-to-face talks with Ukrainian officials next week in Istanbul.

Kyiv said earlier this week it is committed to the search for peace, but that it was waiting for a memorandum from the Russian side setting out their proposals which has not materialised.

Nevertheless, Zelenskiy said on Sunday that he will send a delegation of his officials to meet their Russian counterparts in Istanbul.

(Writing by Christian Lowe, Editing by William Maclean)