Ukraine Willing To Discuss Russia’s Neutrality Demand – Zelenskyy

• Zelenskyy believes such a move would have to be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum

• Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are set to resume in-person talks this week in Turkey

EKO HOT BLOG reports that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia, but the move would have to be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum.

“Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point,” Zelenskyy said while speaking to Russian journalists in a video call that was published by local media on Sunday, despite Moscow’s authorities warning against publication.

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The president delivered his message in Russian throughout, as he has done in previous speeches when addressing a Russian audience.

He said Russia’s invasion had caused the destruction of Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine, and said the damage was worse than the Russian wars in Chechnya. Ukraine was discussing the use of the Russian language in Ukraine in talks with Russia, but refused to discuss other Russian demands, such as the demilitarisation of Ukraine, he added.

Zelenskyy said a peace deal would not be possible without a ceasefire and troop withdrawals. He ruled out trying to recapture all Russian-held territory by force, saying it would lead to a third world war, and said he wanted to reach a “compromise” over the eastern Donbas region, held by Russian-backed forces since 2014.

Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor, though, notified Russian media “of the need to refrain from publishing the interview” in a statement, adding that it would review all media outlets that carried it in order to determine “the extent of responsibility and response measures”. It did not give a reason for its warning.

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