Russia has announced its vision of agreements with Ukraine

OLENA ROSCHINA - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2022, 17:55

The head of the Russian delegation, Volodymyr Medinsky, believes that Ukraine has declared its readiness to meet Russia's "key requirements" in Istanbul, without saying anything about Russia withdrawing troops and making it clear that the Kremlin will not compromise on Crimea and Donbas.

Source: Adviser to the President of Russia Volodymyr Medinsky in a comment on the talks with the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul

Details: Medinsky claims that Ukraine has expressed readiness "on paper" to abandon its desire to join NATO and to have weapons of mass destruction, as well as agreeing that military training in Ukraine will require permission from Russia as a "guarantor of security."

At the same time, he did not say a word about Russia's readiness to withdraw troops from Ukraine, nor about seeking a compromise on the status of Crimea and ORDLO.

Earlier, Russia demanded that Ukraine recognize Crimea as Russian, and the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" as independent. The Kremlin has also made a vague demand for the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine.

Medinsky's quote: "Yesterday, for the first time in all previous years, the Kyiv authorities declared their readiness to negotiate with Russia. They conveyed to us the principles of the future agreement recorded on paper.

These principles include: refusal to join NATO; fixing the non-aligned status of Ukraine; renunciation of nuclear weapons, as well as possession, acquisition and development of other weapons of mass destruction, refusal to deploy foreign military bases and troops; the obligation to conduct military exercises with the participation of foreign armed forces only with the agreement with the guarantor states, including Russia.

In other words, Ukraine has declared its readiness to fulfil the fundamental requirements that Russia has insisted on in recent years. If these commitments are met, the threat of a NATO bridgehead on Ukrainian territory will be eliminated. This is, in fact, the essence, meaning and importance of the document previously agreed upon at a fairly high level in Ukraine.

However, the work continues, negotiations continue.

I would like to emphasise that our key position on Crimea and Donbas remains unchanged."

Details: Medinsky said that since 2014, Russia has been making these demands to the Kyiv regime and its patrons, especially the United States. They have been demanding this "for years," but "all these demands have been ignored."

"Yesterday, the Ukrainian side noted in writing its readiness to fulfil a number of key requirements to building normal and, I hope, good neighbourly relations with Russia," he said, repeating all the Kremlin's propaganda about the motives of the war against Ukraine.

Background: on March 29  there was another round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations on terms for restoring peace in Istanbul. The parties did not sign anything, but set out the final proposals, which they worked on after the meetings on February 28, March 3 and 7.

Ukraine hopes that the countries of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, Russia, the United States, France, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland and Israel) and others can become guarantors of Ukraine's security as an alternative to NATO membership. In the event of aggression against Ukraine, the guarantor countries must hold consultations and provide assistance to Ukraine within 3 days with the armed forces, weapons and a no-fly zone.

Those security guarantees will not work in the territories of Crimea and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation also suggested that the status of Crimea and Sevastopol be resolved within 15 years in bilateral talks, and the issue of Donbas in direct talks between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia.

Germany has said it is "generally" ready to act as a guarantor of Ukraine's security, and Great Britain has said it would consider such a possibility, but that British troops would not take part in a war with Russia.

Ukraine is ready to sign an international agreement on security guarantees only after a referendum on this issue. President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also said that this should be preceded by the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.