Russia says Ukraine must decide if it will discuss peace accord memorandum

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine had to decide whether or not it would cooperate in discussing a memorandum ahead of a potential future peace accord that Moscow has discussed with the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a call with President Donald Trump, said that Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord and that efforts to end the war in Ukraine were on the right track.

Putin said that discussions on the memorandum would include the principles of a settlement and the timing and definitions of a possible ceasefire, including its time frame.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that she hoped Ukraine took what she called a constructive position in relation to possible talks on the proposed memorandum for the sake of its own “self-preservation”.

“Now, accordingly, the ball is in Kyiv’s court,” Zakharova told reporters, adding that it was an important moment.

She said that after Putin proposed direct peace talks with Ukraine, Kyiv’s European allies had tried to prevent the resumption of direct dialogue, but that the Europeans had ultimately failed.

On newly announced European Union sanctions, Zakharova said Russia would never bow to ultimatums from anyone, adding that is was clear Europe wanted to re-arm Ukraine to continue the war.

Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022, triggering the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Andrew Osborn)