Ukraine proposes to declare itself a neutral state

Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, who leads the Russian delegation to the talks with Ukraine, said Ukraine proposed being proclaimed a neutral state in exchange for being guaranteed its security by a number of guarantor nations.

"We have received the Ukrainian delegation’s proposals. As far as I understand, they were agreed with Ukraine’s leadership. In brief, they are: Ukraine is proclaimed a permanently neutral state under international legal guarantees for the purpose of the implementation of its off-bloc and nuclear-free status. Further on, a list of Ukraine’s security guarantor nations is given," Medinsky said after a round of talks in Istanbul.

"[Kiev’s proposals imply that] for its part, the Russian Federation does not object to Ukraine’s desire to join the European Union," Medinsky stated.

In another context, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin told reporters that "In order to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations and achieving the ultimate goal of agreeing and signing (an) agreement, a decision was made to radically, by a large margin, reduce military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions."

Fomin made no mention of other battleground locations, such as Mariupol in the southeast, Sumy and Kharkiv in the east, and Kherson and Mykolaiv in the south.

The Ukraine-Russia talks first began in Belarus' Gomel region on February 28 and lasted for five hours. The second round took place on March 3 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus, whereas the third round was on March 7 in Brest, Belarus. Additional rounds took place online, with this last round being held in Istanbul on Tuesday.