The Office of the President responded to the statements of Russian negotiators regarding the «neutral status of Ukraine».
Thus, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, adviser to the head of the OPU, Mikhail Podolyak, stated the following:
“We understand the attempt of our partners to remain the proactive side in the negotiation process. Hence the words about the «Swedish» or «Austrian» models of neutrality. But Ukraine is now in a state of direct war with the Russian Federation. Therefore, the model can only be “Ukrainian” and only with legally verified security guarantees,” reports the Chronicle.info with reference to the Facts.
According to he, security guarantees should be absolute, and not protocol : “This means that the signatories of the guarantees do not stand on the side in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as it is today. But actively participate on the side of Ukraine in the conflict and officially ensure immediate deliveries of the necessary amount of weapons to us. Podolyak added that Ukraine no longer wants to depend on bureaucratic procedures that allow or not allow to close the sky from the same cruise missiles. We need direct and tough guarantees that the sky will definitely be closed ;- he emphasized.
The adviser to the head OP also noted that our country has never been a militaristic state that attacked or planned to attack neighbors, unlike the Russian Federation. Ukraine wants to have a powerful pool of allies with clearly defined security guarantees.
Podolyak's words were preceded by a statement by a member of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, who said that Ukraine offered an «Austrian» or «Swedish» version of neutrality in the negotiations: «Ukraine offers an «Austrian», «Swedish» version of a neutral demilitarized state. But at the same time, a state that has its own army and naval forces. All these issues are being discussed at the level of the leaderships of the ministries of defense of Russia and Ukraine.