Dear CCI Followers,
Here is the latest on the discussions in Ukraine regarding ending the tragic war.
More to follow,
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
Thanks again to Natylie Baldwin, a close watcher of all things regarding Russia and Ukraine! Note Natylie’s two books, both of which are excellent:
Ukraine: Zbig’s Grand Chessboard & How the West Was Checkmated
The View From Moscow: Understanding Russia and U.S.-Russia Relations
Natylie’s Place: Understanding Russia
Interfax: Russian, Ukranian Delegations Maximally Converge Positions on Ukraine’s Neutral Status,Non-Accession to Nato at Talks – Medinsky
March 18, 2022
By Natylie Baldwin
Interfax News Agency, 3/18/22
MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) – Ukraine’s neutral status and non-accession to NATO are the topics on which Moscow and Kyiv have maximally converged their positions at the ongoing talks, head of the Russian delegation and presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky told reporters on Friday.
“The topic of Ukraine’s neutral status and non-accession to NATO is one of the key points at the talks and this is the point on which the sides have brought their positions maximally closer,” Medinsky said.
However, these points have nuances related to security guarantees for Ukraine, he said. “The nuances are related to what kind of security guarantees Ukraine gets in addition to the existing ones in the event that it refuses to join the NATO bloc,” Medinsky said.
According to Medinsky, Moscow and Kyiv are “somewhere halfway” when it comes to demilitarization of Ukraine as part of the ongoing negotiation process between the parties.