Had Revealed The Opportunity Of Meeting With Putin And Zelensky, Russia's Chief Negotiator: The Agreement Is Not Ready To Be Discussed At The Highest Level

JAKARTA - The draft agreement between Russia and Ukraine is not yet ready to be presented at the top-level meeting, although Ukraine is becoming more realistic in approaching the issue of its neutral and non-nuclear status, said Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation thought.

"The Ukrainian side is becoming more realistic in approaching issues related to Ukraine's neutral and non-nuclear status. However, the draft agreement is not yet ready to be presented at the top-level meeting," he wrote on his Telegram channel on Sunday, citing TASS on April 4.

Commenting on the statement of David Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, which stated that Russia accepted Ukraine's position with the exception of Crimea. He noted that Russia's point of view regarding the status of Crimea and the Donbass remained unchanged.

In addition, Vladimir Medinsky added, Moscow has been trying to achieve Ukraine's neutral and unaffiliated status and security guarantees for it since 2014.

He said talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations would continue on Monday, while work on the text of the agreement and between the heads of delegations would continue in a remote format on Friday and Saturday.

As previously reported, Russia suggested a meeting between the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, be held concurrently with the signing of a bilateral agreement by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Medinsky said last week.

"After a meaningful conversation today, we agreed and suggested a solution, in which a meeting between heads of state is possible, along with the signing of an agreement by the foreign ministers," he said.

"Moreover, during the initialization and consideration of the details of the agreement, it was possible to discuss various nuances and political details," he continued after the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul.

"So, if work on the agreement and the necessary compromises proceed quickly, it is likely that peace will be closer," he added.

According to Medinsky, the Russian side had previously said such a meeting would be possible, when the agreement drafted by the negotiators and foreign ministers of the two countries was ready for signature.

The scheme is as follows: first, an agreement is drafted, then approved by negotiators, signed by the foreign minister at a private meeting. And only after that a possible meeting between heads of state is convened to sign this agreement.

"This is not a simple matter, moreover it can become a multilateral meeting involving countries that guarantee peace and security in Ukraine," he said.

It is known that the meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29 brought good winds to efforts for peace between the two countries, and opened the door to a meeting between President Zelensky and President Putin.