Moscow will radically reduce its military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv in Ukraine, the Russian negotiators said on Tuesday, after Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul. According to AFP, they also said that negotiations on an agreement on Ukraine’s neutrality and non-nuclear status were entering a practical dimension. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, spoke of „substantial talks” between the two sides and said that Ukraine’s „clear” proposals for an agreement would be „studied very soon and forwarded to President Vladimir Putin.” For their part, the Kyiv negotiators said that Ukraine proposed the adoption of a status of neutrality in exchange for security guarantees, meaning that it would not join military alliances or host military bases on its territory. The proposal will also include a 15-year consultation period on the status of the annexed Crimea and will enter into force only in the event of a complete ceasefire. The Ukrainian side also wants security guarantees like Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which is a collective defense clause. Those who would guarantee Ukraine’s security could include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Israel, Turkey and Canada. The proposals are the most detailed and concrete that Ukraine has made public so far, Reuters reports.
