Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov . File photoTUNXI (China), Mar 30The confirmation by Kiev of the need to ensure a non-nuclear and non-bloc status of Ukraine, as well as the understanding on the part of the Ukrainian delegation that the issues of Crimea and Donbass have been finally resolved, are significant progress in the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. «I consider it a significant progress that Ukrainian negotiators reaffirmed the need to ensure a non-nuclear, non-bloc status of Ukraine and its security outside the framework of the North Atlantic Alliance, as well as the understanding by Ukrainian colleagues that the issues of Crimea and Donbass have been finally resolved,» Lavrov told reporters, commenting on the results of the talks held in Istanbul. 
The talks with Ukraine will have a long work to do, the Kremlin saidIn Istanbul on Tuesday, another round of Russian-Ukrainian talks was held. The meeting was held at the Dolmabahce Palace closed to the press and lasted about three hours. The Russian delegation, as in previous rounds, was headed by Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation. Following the results of the talks, he, in particular, said that the Russian Federation, in the course of a special operation in Ukraine, is significantly reducing military activity in the Kiev and Chernihiv directions. He also said that the meeting in Istanbul was constructive: Russia will consider the proposals of Ukraine, they will be reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Medinsky said that Putin's meeting with Zelensky is possible simultaneously with the initialing of the peace treaty by the foreign ministers of the two countries. On February 21, Russia recognized the DPR and LPR, which declared independence from Kyiv back in 2014, and on February 24 launched a special military operation in Ukraine. Crimea became Russian region after the 2014 referendum, in which 96.77% of Crimean voters and 95.6% of Sevastopol residents voted for joining Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea its own, but temporarily occupied territory, and until recently, the Crimean authorities «in exile» operated in the Kherson region — mainly law enforcement agencies and the representative office of the President of Ukraine in Crimea. The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the inhabitants of Crimea democratically, in full accordance with international law and the UN Charter, voted for reunification with Russia. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea is «finally closed».
