Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that the document Russia presented as a “memorandum” is, in fact, an ultimatum rather than a basis for negotiation.
“This is not a memorandum of understanding. A memorandum implies two sides, not one side simply demanding something. So it can’t be called a memorandum. It’s an ultimatum from the Russian side to us,” Zelensky said at a briefing on Wednesday.
He explained that Russia deliberately withheld the document from the public at first, understanding that if Ukraine saw its contents beforehand, it would have every reason to cancel the meeting. The president stressed that the document has nothing to do with diplomacy and instead represents “artificial diplomacy” designed to create the illusion of constructiveness before the United States and to delay new sanctions.
The document reportedly demands that Ukraine recognize the occupied territories as part of the Russian Federation, commit to neutrality, and withdraw from all international alliances.
“I’ll say it again — this document was prepared by people of a low level. The Russian team doesn’t consist of those who make real decisions — not even those who understand international law or Ukrainian legislation,” Zelensky said.
He also noted that the document includes a point requiring Ukraine to confirm its non-nuclear status.
“What nuclear weapons are we even talking about? We don’t have any. We’ve been a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty since 1994, following the Budapest Memorandum. Our status is clear,” Zelensky said.
Additionally, the document reportedly calls for the disbanding of Ukrainian “nationalist formations.” Zelensky rejected this, emphasizing that the Ukrainian military has no private armed groups.
“I don’t even want to go through all the points. As for the Russian language — everyone knows we have one state language, Ukrainian. Their supposed ‘concern’ for Russian-speaking people is absurd, considering they’re the ones destroying cities and killing people in the east, where the majority were either Russian-speaking or bilingual. This is nothing but an ultimatum and political PR,” Zelensky concluded.
Following the June 2 negotiations in Istanbul, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov — head of the Ukrainian delegation — confirmed that Russia had handed over its document, and Ukraine was given one week to review it.
Source: Russia's 'memorandum' an ultimatum, not a proposal for dialogue – Zelensky
