Ukraine's written proposals handed over to Russia at a meeting in Istanbul contain provisions on Kiev's refusal to join NATO and nuclear weapons. The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, said this on the air of the Rossiya-24 television channel on Wednesday.
"Yesterday, for the first time in all previous years, the Kiev authorities declared their willingness to negotiate with Russia. They handed us the principles of a possible future agreement written down on paper, which stipulate: refusing to join NATO, fixing Ukraine's bloc-free status, refusing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction," he said.
According to Medinsky, Ukraine's proposals also include a refusal to host foreign military bases and military contingents, as well as an obligation to hold military exercises only upon the consent of the guarantor states, among which would be Russia.
The head of the Russian delegation stressed that if all these obligations are fulfilled by Kiev, the threat of creating a NATO bridgehead on Ukrainian territory will be eliminated.
Kiev's preparations for an offensive in Donbass
Medinsky said that Russia was forced to launch an operation in Ukraine because there is incontrovertible evidence of Kiev's preparations for an offensive in Donbass.
"There is incontrovertible evidence that Kiev was planning to launch an offensive against Donbass in the near future, and then Russia would have had to stand up in any case to protect tens and tens of thousands of our Russian citizens living there. Under these circumstances, Russia was forced to launch a special military operation," he said.
Medinsky recalled that after the 2014 coup d'état in Ukraine, Russia had been making security demands to the "Kiev regime and its patrons" for years. "Russia proposed negotiations, the conclusion of various kinds of agreements that were supposed to guarantee both Ukraine's security and the protection of Russia's national interests. All of these demands have been ignored for years, and from Ukraine, or rather, from Ukrainian territory, NATO has also been creating an anti-Russian bridgehead for years," he continued. - "Ukraine's accession to NATO and the creation of NATO military bases on its territory seemed a done deal. The only question was time".
According to Medinsky, it has already been proven that there was also "purposeful work to create biological weapons" on the territory of Ukraine. "Moreover, the question of Ukraine's acquisition of nuclear weapons as well was also thrown into the public sphere," he stressed. - "All these years, the Kiev regime has carried out blatant genocide against the inhabitants of Donbass. There is no number of confirmations and evidence of this."
Relations with Russia
Medinsky said that Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time recorded its readiness to fulfill a number of crucial conditions in order to build normal relations with Russia in the future.
"Yesterday, the Ukrainian side for the first time recorded, and in writing, its readiness to fulfill a number of important conditions to build in the future normal and, I hope, good neighborly relations with Russia," he said.
Medinsky said that Russia's principled position on Crimea and Donbass remains unchanged.
"I emphasize that the principled position of our side regarding Crimea and Donbass remains unchanged," he said.
According to Medinsky, negotiations and work continue.
Anti-Russian bridgehead
The North Atlantic Alliance has been forming an anti-Russian bridgehead on Ukrainian territory, ignoring Russia's security demands for years, Medinsky said.
"Russia offered to negotiate, to conclude various kinds of agreements that were supposed to guarantee both Ukraine's security and the protection of Russia's national interests. All these demands have been ignored for years, and from Ukraine, or rather from Ukrainian territory, NATO has also for years created an anti-Russian bridgehead," he said.
The Moscow and Kiev delegations held face-to-face talks in Istanbul on Tuesday. Following the meeting, Medinsky said Russia had received written proposals for a treaty between the sides from Ukraine. He added that Moscow will put forward counter-proposals after considering these initiatives. In addition, the politician said, Moscow makes "two steps towards" Kiev and offers to hold a meeting of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky earlier than planned - simultaneously with the initialing of the peace treaty at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs. And the Russian military will reduce its activity in the Kiev and Chernihiv directions.
On February 24, Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to an appeal for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow's plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories; the goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS