The head of the Ukrainian negotiators, David Arahamia, said on Saturday that Moscow had “orally” accepted Ukraine’s key positions and that Kyiv was now awaiting written confirmation.
Speaking on a television show, Arahamia hinted that talks on reaching a peace agreement had progressed significantly. “The Russian Federation has given an official response to all (Ukrainian) positions, that is, it has accepted them, except those on the Crimean issue,” which was annexed by Russia in 2014, the negotiator said. He added, however, that “there is no official written confirmation” other than “verbal” acceptance by Moscow.
According to Arahamias, if there is a direct meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian Vladimir Putin, he will most likely be hosted in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “called us (yesterday Friday), as well as Vladimir Putin” saying that he would host such a meeting, he revealed. “We do not know when or where, but we believe that the place will probably be Ankara or Istanbul,” he added.
Since the beginning of the war, Zelensky has sought to speak directly with Putin.
The Ukrainian negotiator stressed that Moscow agreed that a referendum on Ukraine’s neutrality would be “the only way out of this situation.” If the Ukrainians do not approve of this neutrality regime, “then we will return them either to a state of war, perhaps, or to new negotiations,” Arahamia said.
The Kremlin insists that Ukraine should renounce NATO membership and opt for neutrality.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said talks with “hostile” Ukraine were not easy, but that they were continuing. “Ukraine is a very difficult country, very difficult for us. “In the current situation, it is hostile to us,” he said in an interview with Belarussian television.
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