Istanbul Russia wants to significantly reduce its “military activities” in Ukraine near Kyiv and Chernihiv. This was decided in view of the course of the negotiations with Ukraine, said Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin on Tuesday after the talks in Istanbul. Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv met there for peace negotiations.
Russia began its war of aggression in Ukraine a month ago. It was the first announcement of a withdrawal of this kind from the Russian side. A few days ago, the Ministry of Defense announced that it wanted to focus on the Donbass in eastern Ukraine.
The move should serve to build mutual trust and create the conditions for further negotiations, Fomin said. Ukraine is in the process of preparing a treaty on a neutral status of the country without nuclear weapons. Russia assumes that Ukraine will make appropriate decisions on this.
Ukrainian negotiators confirmed Fomin’s statements: Ukraine offered neutrality in return for security guarantees. This would mean that Ukraine would not join any military alliance, the negotiators said. In addition, there will be no military bases in the country.
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Before a final agreement comes into force, however, peace must once again prevail throughout Ukraine and a referendum must be held on the terms of an agreement with Russia. Turkey, Israel, Poland and Canada could act as guarantors of security compliance.
>> Read also: Situation at noon – Russian Defense Minister reiterates focus on Donbass
The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, praised the latest round of negotiations as constructive. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy also said in Istanbul that Russia was ready to take “two steps to de-escalate the conflict”. One of them relates to the military level and one to the political level.
Head of delegation Vladimir Medinsky (left) and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin appeared before the press.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
The Ukrainian side submitted a “comprehensibly formulated position for inclusion in a contract”. “These proposals will be reviewed in the near future, submitted to the President, and we will respond accordingly,” Medinski said. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said there would be no second day of negotiations in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian general staff announced that the withdrawal of individual units of the Russian armed forces was being observed in the area around the capital Kyiv and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
According to local authorities, more than 350 people have already died in Russian attacks on Chernihiv. However, the figures are only preliminary, Mayor Wladylsaw Atroschenko said on Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian agency Unian. According to estimates, it could also be up to 400 dead. Around 400 people were injured in the city’s hospitals.
Erdogan appeals to conflict parties
Before the start of the meeting in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed to both sides and called for a ceasefire. Progress in the talks could pave the way for a meeting between the two countries’ presidents, Erdogan said.
“We believe that in a just peace there will be no losers,” said the Turkish president. Prolonging the conflict is in nobody’s interest. “As members of the delegations, you have taken on a historic responsibility. The whole world is waiting for the good news that will come from you,” he explained.
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