Russia and Ukraine have made some progress on several of the issues they discuss in the peace negotiationsalthough a rapprochement has not been achieved in all of them, the head of the Russian delegation, presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, said on Wednesday.
(In context: Dialogues between Moscow and kyiv remain unfinished, and the offensive worsens)
“There is some progress in several positions, but not in all. The positions of the parties have been defined, they are quite clear, we are moving slowly, respecting all the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens,” Medinsky said, according to the Russian agency Tass.
Medinsky participates in the rounds of negotiations that delegations from Ukraine and Russia have been holding for several weeks and that this Wednesday enter their sixth round, which will be held by videoconference.
Adviser to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, also said that in those meetings they were also discussing the sanctions that the West has imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
(You may be interested in: Russia: journalist breaks live against the war in Ukraine)
It is discussing “in general, this whole crazy situation with economic sanctions, which, of course, no longer resembles any sanctions, but a full-fledged, large-scale and historically unprecedented economic war against Russia”, he added.
Medinsky indicated that a large team of lawyers, soldiers and experts work between meetings, including at night, to achieve a “reconciliation of positions” between both parties and in the “search for compromises.”
Negotiations are carried out at the level not only of the leaders of the negotiating groups and their members, but also of a large team of lawyers
“Negotiations are carried out at the level not only of the leaders of the negotiating groups and their members, but also of a large team of lawyers, experts, specialists in international affairs, military, who, as a rule, compare positions to late afternoon and evening and trying to come to some kind of compromise, which of course is very difficult,” he added.
Also the Russian Foreign Minister, Serguei Lavrov, referred to these contacts on Wednesday and assured that “it is close” to reaching an agreement with Ukraine on security guaranteesaccording to Russian agencies.
(In other news: Russia sanctions Joe Biden and other top US officials.)
“There are a number of formulations of agreements with Ukraine on the status of neutrality and security guarantees that are about to be achieved,” Lavrov said, the Russian Interfax agency reported.
Hours earlier, the President of Ukraine, Volodomir Zelensky, stated that the positions in the negotiations with Russia for a ceasefire are now more realisticbut that time is still needed for decisions “to be in the interest of Ukraine.”
In a message published this morning, at the beginning of the twenty-first day of the Russian invasion, Zelensky said that the positions in the negotiations “sound more realistic”, that “it is difficult, but important” to continue negotiating and that “efforts are still needed” because “every war ends in an agreement”.
Ukraine rejects the idea of neutrality
Ukraine asks for “security guarantees” against Russia and rejects the idea of adopting a “neutrality” that takes Sweden or Austria as a model, the Ukrainian presidency announced on Wednesday.
“Ukraine is in a direct war with Russia. Therefore, the model can only be ‘Ukrainian'” and must have “a foundation of solid security guarantees,” said negotiator Mikhailo Podoliak, in comments published by the President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.
The official specified that the signatories should undertake to intervene in the event of aggression against Ukraine.
“This means that the signatories of these guarantees cannot remain on the sidelines in the event of an attack on Ukraine as is happening today, and that they will actively participate in the conflict on the Ukrainian side” and “immediately” supply it with the necessary weapons, Podoliak quoted.
kyiv calls for a no-fly zone to also be established over Ukraine in the event of an offensive against its territoryhe added.
(Also read: Expectation for Zelenski’s virtual speech before the US Congress.)
Shortly before, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov mentioned that Austria and Sweden could be taken as models of neutrality by Ukraine to reach a compromise.
The two parties have been negotiating by videoconference since Monday and the talks continue this Wednesday, when they have completed three weeks of offensive in Ukraine.
Sweden, a non-aligned country, is not a member of NATO although it has been a member of the Alliance since the mid-1990s.
The country officially abandoned its neutrality at the end of the Cold War, a period that also coincided with its entry into the European Union (EU). Austria is a neutral country and cannot send soldiers to a country at war, except for UN missions.
On Tuesday, Zelenski took a step in the direction of Russia and considered that it had to be accepted that his country would never be a member of NATO. This possibility is one of the main arguments used by Russia to justify its offensive against Ukraine.
EFE and AFP
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