Moscow and Kyiv have brought their positions “as close as possible” to a proposal to gain Ukraine a neutral status, a senior Russian negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, was quoted as saying by AFP.
Already on Wednesday, the Kremlin insisted that Ukraine should be a neutral state, following the example of Sweden or Austria, during talks with Kyiv to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv, however, rejected the offer and said it wanted its security to be guaranteed by international forces.
“The issue of Ukraine’s neutral status and non-accession to NATO is one of the key points of the talks. It is also a point on which the parties have brought their positions as close as possible,” Russian news agencies quoted leading Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky as saying. He added that there are “nuances” when it comes to “security guarantees” required by Ukraine.
Russia demands that Ukraine never join NATO’s Western military alliance, and insists on its “demilitarization” and “denazification”.
According to Medinsky, today the negotiators are “halfway” to an agreement on the “demilitarization” of Ukraine.
However, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who is taking part in the talks, said his country’s position had not changed.