Russia scales down troops
Move raises hopes of conflict end, but ‘long way to go’ for crisis settlement
Russia’s scaling down of troops in Ukraine and opening of more humanitarian corridors after the “constructive” face-to-face talks with Ukraine in Turkey indicates the possibility of an end to the grinding conflict, though there is still “a long way to go” before a complete settlement of the crisis.
In Istanbul, following the March 29 talks which lasted for about three hours instead of two days, the two sides made their respective statements to reporters.
Ukrainian presidential adviser and negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak told reporters that the meeting’s results are sufficient for a subsequent meeting at the leaders’ level.
But Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said the presidents of the two countries may meet only when a draft of a peace treaty is approved, Anadolu news agency reported. Medinsky did say the talks in Istanbul were “constructive”.
Ukraine proposed adopting a neutral status with international guarantees to protect it from attacks. Turkey, which hosted the talks, said the measures marked the most significant progress yet.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded the “demilitarization” of Ukraine, and that Ukraine adopt a neutral status and recognize the Donbass region in the east and Crimea are no longer parts of Ukraine.
Ahead of the talks, Zelensky said his country is prepared to declare its neutrality, as Moscow has demanded, and added that compromise might be possible over “the complex issue” of Donbass.
Ukraine’s military said it had noted withdrawals of some Russian forces. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, who participated in the talks, said Moscow had decided to “fundamentally … cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv” to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations”.
But later, Oleksiy Danilov, Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said Russia is redeploying its troops from Kiev and Chernihiv directions, in the central and northern Ukraine, respectively, to Ukraine’s eastern regions, according to the Ukrinform news agency.
Ahead of the latest round of talks in Turkey, the Kremlin said Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is not an official member of the Russian negotiating team, but was present at the talks in Turkey to “enable certain contacts” between the two sides.
The Kremlin also dismissed reports that Abramovich, who played an early role in peace talks, had been poisoned, saying these were untrue and part of an “information war”.
China supports Russia and Ukraine in overcoming their difficulties and continuing peace talks, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tunxi, Anhui province, on March 30 amid meetings of foreign ministers of countries that border Afghanistan.
China always upholds objectivity and fairness on international affairs and stands on the right side of history, Wang said.
Wang expressed China’s support for an early de-escalation of the current situation in Ukraine and for the efforts made by Russia and all parties to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis.
In the long run, he said it is necessary to draw lessons from the Ukraine crisis and respond to the reasonable concerns of all parties under the principles of mutual respect and indivisible security.
A balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture should be built through dialogue and negotiations in order to realize lasting peace and stability in Europe, Wang said.