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US State Department mum on US participation in Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce declined to comment on the upcoming talks

WASHINGTON, May 29. /TASS/. Spokeswoman for the US Department of State Tammy Bruce has declined to inform as to whether the US will take part in Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.

"I'm not going to go into that. I have nothing to preview for you on that," she said, replying to a question on the matter.

Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the US administration is hoping for the resumption of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul next week.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow’s delegation led by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky was ready to present to Ukraine Russia’s memorandum on ways to address the root causes of the crisis in Istanbul on June 2.

The previous round of negotiations took place on May 16 and resulted in agreements to swap the prisoners of war under a "1,000 for 1,000" formula, present the concept of the potential future ceasefire, outlining it in detail, as well as continue the negotiation process. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the meeting’s outcome.