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.
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.
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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. Ukraine is demanding the green light from Moscow to join the European Union. According to the Russian news agency RIA, Medinski said that the government in Kyiv is demanding, among other things, that Russia does not oppose Ukraine’s admission to the European Union.
It initially remained unclear what exactly Russia means by a “significant reduction”. In addition, despite the announcements from Istanbul, Russia intends to continue its “special military operation” – as Moscow calls the war of aggression against Ukraine – according to a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry. “It’s going strictly according to plan,” Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday, according to the Interfax agency. The tasks and goals would continue to be met.
The peace negotiations between the two countries are still about the “demilitarization of Ukraine,” said Zakharova. In addition to a possible neutrality of Ukraine and the associated security guarantees, a “recognition of today’s territorial realities” would also be discussed.
Head of delegation Vladimir Medinsky (left) and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin appeared before the press.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian negotiators say they are insisting on tough security guarantees in exchange for a possible neutral status. These should come from the permanent members of the UN Security Council such as the USA, France, Great Britain, China or Russia, said delegation member David Arachamija in Istanbul. This could also include Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland, Israel and other countries.
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The guarantees should be worded similarly to Article Five of the NATO treaty. Accordingly, the members of the military alliance are obliged to provide immediate military assistance in the event of an attack on a partner.
Territorial cessions are still out of the question for Kyiv. “We recognize only the borders of Ukraine recognized by the world as of 1991,” stressed Arakhamiya, who is the leader of the faction of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party. There can be no compromises. Among other things, Moscow is demanding that the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, be recognized as Russian territory and that the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk be recognized as independent states.
The issue of the status of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions should be excluded from any actual peace settlement.
(Photo: AP)
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said that the issue of Crimea should be discussed within 15 years after the end of the current hostilities. The question of the status of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions should also be excluded from any current peace solution. The Russian army has now declared the complete conquest of the region to be the main goal of its “military operation”.
Kyiv reports withdrawal of individual Russian units
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.
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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