NEW YORK, May 30. /TASS/. The US does not plan to send a delegation to participate in the second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2, The Atlantic reported.
According to the magazine, US President Donald Trump expects progress from this round of renewed direct talks between Moscow and Kiev. The Atlantic pointed out that Trump discussed introducing new sanctions against Russia with his advisers. However, the White House fears a "a global rise in gas prices if stringent measures are put in place."
At a briefing on May 29, State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce did not answer a question about whether the US would participate in the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Moscow was ready for the second round of negotiations with Kiev, which is scheduled to take place in Istanbul on June 2. Lavrov said that the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, would present Ukraine with a Russian memorandum on eliminating the root causes of the crisis.
The previous round of negotiations took place on May 16 and resulted in agreements to exchange prisoners on the "1,000 for 1,000" basis and to present their vision of a potential future ceasefire. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the meeting's outcome.