Amid efforts to start peace talks in Turkey, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky told Russian journalists in an interview that his government is considering Russian demand of Ukrainian neutrality.
Zelensky said the Russian demand is being “carefully studied”. Before the war, President Putin had directed NATO not to induct Ukraine into its military alliance. Earlier, Russia had had said Swedish and Austrian models of neutrality could be adopted by Ukraine, however, the proposal was rejected by Zelensky’s government.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov however added that although President Putin “has never refused to meet President Zelensky” but that meeting between the two leaders would be “counterproductive”.
Ukraine and Russian officials have reportedly confirmed talks to take place in Turkey on Tuesday.
Zelensky said he had spoken to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi over the security guarantees issue. Zelensky’s comments come as Ukrainian and Russian officials get set to meet in Istanbul after President Erdogan spoke to President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
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Russia’s military had signalled last week that it was shifting its focus to the separatist region of Donbas in eastern Ukraine. “I don’t think there will be any breakthrough on the main issues,” Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said even though Zelensky during his interview with Russian journalists said some kind of “compromise” could be worked out on Donbas.
Lavrov had declared that he wanted Ukraine to “stop assimilating itself with the West, with NATO, in the military sense”.
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Meanwhile, President Biden proposed $6.9 billion in aid to Ukraine against Russia and to bolster NATO as Russia continued to intensify its campaign in Ukraine.
(With inputs from Agencies)
