The Russian Defense Ministry announces a drastic reduction in military activity in the kyiv and Chernigov areas
As the head of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks that began Tuesday in Istanbul, David Arajamía, has just declared to the press, kyiv has presented a comprehensive proposal to Russia to end the war between the two countries. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinski, who described the meeting as “constructive”, assured that the draft will now be studied in Moscow.
What, according to the words of Arajamía, has already been agreed upon and has Russia’s approval is that Ukraine receive security guarantees from the United States, France, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Poland and Israel that it will not be attacked again. by Russia or by any other state. With these countries, Ukraine would have the same guarantees established by Article 5 of NATO. That is to say, if it were the object of an aggression, consultations would be initiated within three days with the attacker and, if they were unsuccessful, the guarantor countries would have to help Ukraine militarily and proceed to establish a no-fly zone over its territory. . Some of these countries have already given their preliminary approval to the scheme, although it is not specified which ones in particular.
At the same time, kyiv undertakes not to join NATO, to be a permanent “neutral” state, to renounce nuclear weapons and not to allow the deployment of foreign military bases on its territory. Arajamía has said that “we have unresolved problems” in relation to Donbass and Crimea, so the guarantees of the guarantor countries will not be extended to those two enclaves. Likewise, Ukraine would have the green light to join the European Union.
For his part, the negotiator and advisor to the Ukrainian Presidency, Mijailo Podoliak, has assured that “with respect to Crimea, there will be a separate clause in the agreement. We will hold talks with Russia on Crimea for 15 years, during which there will be no hostilities.” Podoliak maintains that the Donbass issue “will also be included in a separate clause.” “Ukraine works a little differently from the Russian Federation. For us, the main thing is that the State communicates with society. The implementation of the decision will follow the referendum procedure and then ratification by the parliaments of the guarantor countries », he noted.
Medinski described the meeting as “constructive” and announced that a summit between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, “may take place simultaneously with the signing of the final treaty by the Russian foreign ministries. and Ukraine.
The head of the Russian delegation believes that “Russia has taken two steps towards meeting Ukraine to de-escalate the conflict.” He also stated that the Russian Federation will consider Ukraine’s proposals by transferring all information to Putin. Earlier, the Defense Ministry announced a drastic reduction in military activity in the kyiv and Chernigov areas.
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