The Ukrainian chief negotiator in the peace talks with Russia, David Arakhamia, said Saturday that Moscow “orally” accepted the main Ukrainian proposals and that Kiev was awaiting written confirmation.
On a television program, the delegate suggested that negotiations to end the conflict had progressed considerably: “The Russian Federation has given an official response to all positions, which is that they accept the [Ukrainian] position, except on the Crimean issue,” Russia annexed in 2014, Arakhamia said.
He also added that although there was “no official written confirmation”, the Russian side said it “orally”.
“The Russian team confirmed our thesis that the draft agreement is sufficiently developed to hold direct consultations between both leaders, the presidents of Ukraine and Russia,” Arahamiya wrote on her official Telegram channel.
On the other hand, Arakhamia referred to the possibility of organizing a meeting between Ukrainian Presidents Volodymir Zelensky and Russian, Vladimir Putin, which would “most likely” take place in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who received Russian and Ukrainian delegations in his country this week, “called us and Vladimir Putin” on Friday, saying he would host such a meeting, he revealed.
“We don't know the date or place, but we think the place will most likely be Ankara or Istanbul,” Arakhamia said.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Zelensky has repeatedly asked to meet with Putin, so far without success.
The Ukrainian negotiator stressed that Moscow had agreed during the talks that a referendum on Ukraine's neutrality would be “the only way out of this situation.” If Ukrainians do not accept that status, “we will return to a state of war, perhaps, or to new negotiations.”
The Kremlin, for its part, insists that Ukraine should not join NATO and should opt for neutrality. Regarding the negotiations, the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dimitri Peskov, said that Russia agreed to continue the negotiations and reproached Kiev for leaving Belarus as host of these contacts.
“We would love to continue negotiations in Belarus, but the Ukrainians don't want to (...). Admittedly, the most important thing is to find a place where we can meet with the Ukrainian negotiators and, most importantly, that they continue either in Istanbul or elsewhere,” Peskov said, confirming his Ukrainian counterpart's version of Turkey.
Peskov believes that “it is possible” to achieve the objectives of the Russian invasion of Ukraine through negotiation, “although it will not be easy”.
Regarding one of the objectives of the Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine, Peskov said about the “demilitarization” that “goes by full train”. “The military potential, the military infrastructure of Ukraine have been largely destroyed,” he said.
He also mentioned as an end the restoration of the Donetsk and Lugansk borders in force in 2014. “We have recognized their independence and the operation began after the request for assistance from these two republics,” he said.
With information from AFP, EFE and EuropaPress
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