Russia has asked its neighbor never to join Western NATO’s military alliance.
Moscow:
Russia’s top negotiator in talks with Ukraine on Friday said Moscow and Kiev had brought their positions “as close as possible” on a proposal to allow Ukraine to become a neutral state.The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a neutral Ukraine along the lines of Sweden or Austria was discussed during talks with Kiev to end three weeks of a Russian military operation there. But Ukraine rejected the proposal, saying it wanted to guarantee its security through international forces. “The subject of Ukraine’s neutral status and non-accession to NATO is one of the main points of the talks, this is the point where the parties have brought their positions as close as possible,” said Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky Friday. by Russian news agencies. But he added that there were “nuances” when it came to “security guarantees” requested by Ukraine. Russia, which has been conducting a military operation in Ukraine since February 24, has asked its neighbor never to join NATO’s Western military alliance, and has also demanded its “demilitarization” and “denazification.” Medinsky said on Friday that negotiators are “halfway” toward an agreement on the “demilitarization” of Ukraine. However, Mikhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who took part in the negotiations, said his country’s position had not changed. “Negotiation status. The Russian side’s statements are only their soliciting positions,” he wrote on Twitter. “All statements are intended, among other things, to arouse tension in the media. Our positions are unchanged. Ceasefire, withdrawal of troops & strong security guarantees with concrete formulas.” NN: Endless negotiations that go no where is a familiar ploy. It gets a PR moment. But the real deal is allows Russia to inflict more pain on the Ukraine. Test new weapons systems. The weaker the Ukraine gets the more concessions Russian can extract. And remember the other former states are watching trembling in their boots…. The fact despite promises to the contrary no one is REALLY coming to the aid of Ukrainian with serious military aid. You may hear the false claims of impeding victory by the Ukrainians… Do not buy into that bullshit. Putin is not taking the cities for a reason. He will then have to engage in fierce house to house warfare. Why go through that when he can bomb and rocket the Ukraine into submission. Everyday another pice of the Ukraine is destroyed. From ports to utilities to key infrastructure. He is splice and dicing the Ukraine into the dark ages….. He is doing this to soften the next countries he wants to at least neutralize if not destroy.. His message to the former Soviet states is simply…. NATO cannot and will not help you. Unless you believe sanctions and endless NATO and EU press releases and committee meetings will stop bullets