Rubio-Lavrov Meeting Held May 29 on Ukraine-Russia Next Round; Russia Proposes June 2 Istanbul Talks; Zelensky: Russia 'Dragging Out' Peace Process

May 29, 2026 — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss Moscow's 'specific proposals' for the next round of Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations. Russia proposed scheduling a second round of Istanbul talks for June 2 — consistent with Moscow's May 19 signal that it expected negotiations to resume and its openness to returning to the Istanbul format. The Rubio-Lavrov meeting on May 29 represents the highest-level diplomatic contact between the US-Russia track since the first Istanbul round collapsed on May 16 in under 2 hours (with Putin absent; Russia demanding Ukraine's withdrawal from all four annexed oblasts). A June 2 Istanbul round subsequently materialized, producing a 1,200-for-1,200 prisoner exchange agreement — the largest of the process — but again failing to bridge the core territorial gap. Ukrainian President Zelensky publicly accused Russia on May 28 of 'dragging out the peace process' and not wanting to halt its ongoing military offensive on the approximately 1,000-km frontline. Ukraine submitted its own peace document to the negotiations process. The fundamental gap remains unchanged: Ukraine refuses to cede any additional territory under the Russian occupation framework; Russia insists that any ceasefire must begin from current occupation lines with recognition of the four annexed oblasts. Full-scale war continues with no ceasefire framework in force since the 72-hour pause expired May 11.