MOSCOW, Mar 16Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the head of Vladimir Zelensky's office, believes that the settlement plan, which was described in the Financial Times article, does not represent the position of Kiev. Earlier, the British newspaper Financial Times published an article stating that the delegations of Russia and Ukraine had prepared a plan to end the conflict, which includes 15 points, including a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops, subject to the neutrality of Kyiv and the reduction of the Ukrainian armed forces. The plan also includes Ukraine's refusal to join NATO and should ensure that Ukraine does not host foreign military bases in exchange for protection from allies such as the US, UK and Turkey, the article noted.
Zelensky asked the United States to provide Ukraine with air defense systems» The FT published a draft (of a settlement plan — ed.), which represents the position of the Russian side. Nothing more. The Ukrainian side has its own positions. The only thing we can confirm at the moment is a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees from a number of countries,» Podolyak wrote on Twitter. On Wednesday, the head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Volodymyr Medinsky, said that the negotiations were discussing the preservation and development of the neutral status of Ukraine, the demilitarization of the country, as well as a whole range of issues related with the size of the Ukrainian army. According to him, the Ukrainian side proposes «an Austrian, Swedish version of a neutral demilitarized state, but at the same time a state with its own army and navy.» Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, said that the idea of creating a the example of Austria or Sweden a demilitarized country with its own army can be seen as a compromise. Also, Peskov, after the publication in the media of information about the preparation of a settlement plan by Russia and Ukraine, said that the Kremlin considers it premature to disclose any sets of agreements. On Monday, Russia and Ukraine launched another round of negotiations, this time it was held in the format of a videoconference.
Zakharova reacted to Zelensky's words about negotiating positionsRussia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops. With the support of the Russian Armed Forces, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive, but there is no talk of the occupation of Ukraine, the Russian president stressed.
