Chief Negotiator Says Russia Receives 'Clearly Articulated Position' from Ukraine at Istanbul Talks
2022-March-29
TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian delegation received a "clearly articulated position" from Ukraine during the negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday, Chief Russian Negotiator Vladimir Medinsky stated.
He added that Tuesday's negotiations were "constructive" in their nature, Sputnik reported.
Medinsky elaborated that the position of Kiev will be reviewed by Moscow and presented to President Vladimir Putin.
After that, the Kremlin will give its response on whether it agrees to include Kiev's propositions in a final agreement between Russia and Ukraine, the negotiator explained.
"We have received written proposals from Ukraine confirming their readiness for a neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status, along with a refusal to produce and deploy all types of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and bacteriological ones, and a ban on the presence of foreign military bases and foreign troops on the territory of the country," Medinsky said.
The Russian chief negotiator also announced Moscow's plans to take military and political de-escalation steps.
The military de-escalation will take the form of a "significant reduction" of military activities in the Kiev and Chernigov directions. The political de-escalation step suggests the possibility of a personal meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents at the stage of preliminary approval of the final version of the agreement.
The Russian Defence Ministry explained the decision to de-escalate the military situation by the fact that negotiations on Ukraine's neutral and non-nuclear status, as well as security guarantees for the country, have become more "practical".
The ministry stated that the step was necessary to increase a level of mutual trust in negotiations and ultimately to sign an agreement.
Medinsky, in turn, said that Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky could discuss political details of the agreement when they meet for the initialling of the agreement.