On Tuesday, Russia vowed to reduce military attacks around the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and another city. Still, the U.S. warned the threat was not over as Ukraine suggested accepting a neutral status to show progress at frontal dialogs. Negotiations took place in the palace of Istanbul for more than a month into the largest invasion of a European country since World War II that injured or killed thousands of people, forced almost four million to flee abroad, and hit the Russian economy with severe sanctions.
On Tuesday, Russia vowed to reduce military operations across the Ukrainian capital and another city. Still, the U.S. warned the threat was not over as Kyiv suggested adopting a neutral status in a progress sign at head-on dialogs. pic.twitter.com/1gOM6MkXdH
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On Tuesday, Alexander Fomin, the Russian Deputy Defense, told reporters that they had decided to cut military activity in the Chernihiv and Kyiv directions radically. The Pentagon said on Tuesday, Russian began moving a minimal number of troops away from positions across the Ukrainian capital in a move that is more of a repositioning than a withdrawal from the invasion. Spokesman John Kirby told a press briefing that it doesn’t mean the risk to the Ukrainian capital.
He added ten United States F-18 jets and over two hundred troops deployed to Lithuania. American soldiers in Poland coordinate with the Ukrainian military as they hand over weapons to them. Moscow calls its aggression a special operation to disarm and neutralize Ukraine. The West says Russia initiated a senseless attack. Some analysts said that the Russian pledge to scale down fighting mostly covered zones where it has been losing ground.
Kyiv will Agree Not to Join Alliances
According to Ukrainian negotiators, under their proposals, Ukraine would agree not to host bases of foreign troops or join alliances but would have security guaranteed in terms similar to the collective defense clause of the intercontinental NATO military alliance, Article 5. Furthermore, they named Israel and NATO member countries Turkey, Poland, and Canada as nations that may give such guarantees. The United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Germany, and the United States could also be involved.
The proposals, which would involve a referendum in Ukraine, cited a fifteen-year consultation duration on the status of Crimea, seized by Russian forces in 2014. Furthermore, Russian and Ukrainian leaders will discuss the fate of Donbas, which Russia demands Kyiv surrender to separatists. Russian key negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that the proposals also included one that Russia wouldn’t oppose Ukraine joining the European Union (E.U.).
Previously, Moscow opposed Ukrainian membership in the European Union and especially NATO. Medinsky said the Russian delegation would analyze and present the proposals to the Russian leader. Joe Biden, the President of the United States, talked with the leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France about Ukraine on the phone call. According to a source familiar with the matter, the allies discussed more financial assistance of around $500 million for Ukraine.
Source: Web
Details of Proposals
The negotiators of Ukraine in Istanbul handed the detailed proposals of Russia covering neutrality and other critical issues in the fight:
- Ukraine would not join military-political alliances, and any multinational military exercises would need the approval of guarantor states
- Kyiv would become a non-nuclear and non-bloc state, with no external military bases or delegations on its land
- It would have strict guarantees from nations including the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, France, Turkey, Canada, Israel, and China which would agree to protect a neutral Ukraine in the event of invasion
- Moreover, the future status of Crimea would be decided by fifteen years of consultations
So, the proposals would enable Ukraine to join the European Union while banning it from entering NATO’s defensive military alliance.
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