Ukraine’s chief negotiator in the peace talks with Russia, David Arakhamia, claimed on Saturday that Moscow had “orally” accepted the main Ukrainian proposals, adding that Kyiv was now awaiting written confirmation.
Speaking on a TV broadcast, he hinted that talks aimed at ending hostilities had made significant progress.
“The Russian Federation has given an official response to all positions [ukrainiennes]namely that it accepts them, except with regard to the question of Crimea ”, annexed by Moscow in 2014, assured Mr. Arakhamia.
He added that while there was “no official confirmation in writing”, the Russian side accepted it “orally”.
The negotiator also said that if a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, were to finally take place, it would “most likely” take place in Turkey.
Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who hosted the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in his country this week, “called us and Vladimir Putin” on Friday, saying he would host such a meeting, he said. revealed.
“We don’t know the date or the place, but we think the place will most likely be Ankara or Istanbul,” Arakhamia noted.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Mr. Zelensky has repeatedly called for one-on-one talks with Mr. Putin.
The Ukrainian negotiator stressed that Moscow had agreed during the talks that a referendum on Ukraine’s neutrality would be “the only way out of this situation”.
If the Ukrainians do not agree to such a status, “we will either return to a state of war, perhaps, or to new negotiations”.
The Kremlin has insisted that Ukraine should give up joining NATO and opt for neutrality.