Ukraine’s chief negotiator in peace negotiations with Russia revealed on Saturday that Moscow had “verbally” agreed to key Ukrainian proposals, raising hopes for progress in talks to end the war.
David Arachamia told Ukrainian television channels that any possible meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would “probably” take place in Turkey.
“The Russian Federation gave an official response to all positions, which is that it agrees with the (Ukrainian) position, with the exception of the issue of Crimea (which Russia annexed in 2014).”
He pointed out that there is no “official written confirmation”, but the Russian side expressed this “verbally”.
These comments came at a time when Ukraine announced that it had regained control of the entire Kyiv region.
Arachmia said that Moscow agreed in the talks that holding a referendum on Ukraine’s neutral status “would be the only way out of this situation.”
Asked what would happen if Ukrainians voted once morest the country’s neutrality, Arachmia replied, “Either we return to a state of war, perhaps, or to new negotiations.”
The Kremlin stresses Ukraine’s neutrality and non-joining NATO.
Arakhamia said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “contacted us and Vladimir Putin” on Friday, expressing his readiness to host the meeting between Zelensky and Putin.
But he explained that “neither the date nor the place is known, but we believe that the place will most likely be Ankara or Istanbul.”
Turkey, which enjoys good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, has sought to mediate this dispute.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Zelensky has repeatedly called for a face-to-face meeting with Putin.
