Both the Russian and Ukrainian sides made fairly optimistic statements Wednesday about peace talks, suggesting an agreement could be reached soon. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed his citizens via the Telegram network, saying he saw “possible room for compromise” and stressed that the positions of the Russian delegation now seemed ‘more realistic’.
His optimism is shared by Sergei Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy, who said that an agreement on ‘Ukraine’s neutrality’ was approaching. Lavrov said that the terminology of the agreement had been defined and that the two sides were now close to reaching an agreement, Jutarnji list reports.
According to three sources, Kiev would still have to accept the limitations of its military forces, and a potential problem could be provisions in which Western countries would guarantee Ukraine’s security in the future.
According to the draft agreement, Kyiv should guarantee equal use of the Russian language in Ukraine, which is now the only official Ukrainian language, which the Russians cite as one of the reasons for the invasion.
The future of Crimea, both the renegades of Donetsk and Luhansk, has not yet been decided, and Ukrainian negotiators point out that these are “compartmentalized negotiations” and that they are ready for certain compromises on those territories.
Despite optimism, the Ukrainian side still fears that the Russians are negotiating ‘with a fig in their pocket’ and that the negotiations are just buying time to supply Russian forces with supplies, reorganize and then launch an attack again.