Moscow asks Kiev to withdraw Ukrainian troops from the claimed regions, in exchange for an armistice
Russian negotiators asked Ukraine to withdraw their troops from all Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before Russia agreed with a ceasefire.
Istanbul/photo negotiations: Profimedia
This request, discussed in Istanbul, together with others, of which a high Ukrainian official said they were made on Friday's discussions, exceeded the terms of a peace agreement that the United States proposed last month after Consultations with Moscow, writes Agerpres.
A Ukrainian source said that the Russians put on Friday conditions that they described as “without any future“But he didn't detail.
At a briefing with reporters organized on Saturday, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, was asked about the terms that, according to the Ukrainian official, Moscow proposed, but he refused to comment, saying that discussions must take place behind closed doors.
The Ukrainian official, who asked for anonymity to be able to reveal the details of the discussions, explained that Russia proposed the following terms for a peace agreement:
* Withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the regions of Donetsk, Zaporojie, Herson and Lugansk of Ukraine, only after that there can be a cessation of fire. The regions are largely or partially controlled by the Russian forces, but the Ukrainian troops are still fighting to keep control over the rest of the regions. There was no such request in the draft agreement prepared by the United States.
* International recognition of the fact that five territories of Ukraine – the Crimea Peninsula annexed in 2014, as well as the Donetsk, Lugansk, Herson and Zaporojie regions – are Russian. The American project has only proposed the US recognition of Jure of Crimea and the US facto recognition of the territories controlled by the Russians in the other regions.
* Ukraine becomes a neutral state, has no weapons of mass destruction, and Kiev allies will stop any troops on the Ukrainian earth. This request was not part of the US proposal.
* All parties involved in the conflict give up their claims to receive damages for war damages. The US proposal provided that Ukraine receives damages.
According to the Ukrainian official, the Russian negotiators verbally transmitted these requests and did not distribute any document containing their claims.
Also during Friday's discussions in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.
Ukraine also requested direct discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow declares that he has “taken note” of this request, reports the BBC.
“I agreed that each party will present its vision of a possible future armistice”said the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinski, mentioning that the Russian delegation is satisfied with how the discussions went and is “Ready to continue the contacts.”
At a press conference after the discussions with Russia the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Rustem Humorov, said: “I discussed the problem of the armistice. And the problem of exchanges [de prizonieri]. The result is the exchange of 1,000 people against 1,000. This is the result of our meeting. ”
