Ukraine Demands Written Guarantees: Meeting with Russia Only After "Homework" Is Done

It seems the Ukrainian delegation has decided it’s time to switch to written exams in their diplomatic game with Russia. As the head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, stated, Kyiv is open to the next round of negotiations, but only if Moscow first sits down at the table armed not just with a pen, but also with a sheet of paper laying out its ceasefire proposals. And preferably, it shouldn’t be a recipe for borscht or a recipe for success on the international stage, but a “memorandum”—an official document, not just another political joke.

In the world of big international relations, where memorandums fly around like paper airplanes in school, Ukraine insists: paper can endure anything, but let it first endure what Russia proposes. After all, previous verbal agreements have already shown that the negotiators’ memories tend to be selective—especially after phone calls from the Kremlin.

Moscow, always inclined toward protocols and unexpected “jokes” at the negotiating table, has promised to bring its memorandum to the meeting in Istanbul on June 2. And perhaps even with signatures and stamps—so that no one doubts the seriousness of its intentions. But the Ukrainian side demands: show us the text in advance, so there’s time to think, not just to be surprised.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha explained: the memorandum is needed to discuss not abstract castles in the air, but concrete provisions. And also—so that the delegation arrives not as students for an exam, but as experts for a discussion. They want to “review the ticket” in advance, so as not to be caught off guard by yet another geopolitical riddle.

Against the backdrop of such demands and previous meetings, where the Russian delegation displayed nothing but skill in dodging the “silence regime,” Kyiv clearly hopes: the written word is stronger than any promise. Meanwhile, Ukraine has already sent its proposals to Moscow and now, like a student at the blackboard, waits: what will the Russian side write in response?