Progress in Ukraine-Russia Talks... "Peace Agreement Draft Nearing Consensus"

Breakthrough in Negotiations After Ukraine's Declaration to Abandon NATO Membership
Negotiation Issues Remain Including Ukraine's Neutrality and Donbas Problem

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The 4th peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have made significant progress, and it is reported that a draft peace agreement between the two parties will soon be reached. The breakthrough in the talks, which had been at an impasse, came as the Ukrainian government officially announced it would abandon its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, issues such as Ukraine's neutralization demanded by Russia and the separatist issue in the Donbas region remain unresolved, so more time is expected before a peace agreement can be finalized.

According to the British Daily Mail on the 16th (local time), the Ukrainian and Russian delegations prepared a draft peace agreement consisting of 15 articles, and discussions for reaching an agreement are ongoing. The peace plan reportedly includes Ukraine accepting some of Russia's demands, such as a ban on NATO membership, prohibition of hosting foreign military bases, and deployment of weapons, in exchange for Russia promptly halting military operations and withdrawing troops from Ukrainian territory.

Both Russia and Ukraine have evaluated that significant progress has been made in the peace negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Russian media RBC on the same day, "The status of a neutral country is now being seriously discussed along with security guarantees," adding, "There are very specific phrases close to agreement." He emphasized, "A generally acceptable security guarantee for all countries, including Ukraine and Russia, excluding NATO expansion, is under discussion."

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office and head of the Ukrainian negotiation team, appeared on local TV after the talks and said, "The positions of both sides are very different, but we have started to compromise," and "We will soon reach a peace agreement."

The peace negotiations, which had been running on parallel tracks, are now seen as having found a breakthrough as Ukraine officially declared it would abandon its NATO membership bid. Previously, on the day before, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attending the NATO Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) leaders' meeting in London via video call, stated, "Ukraine will not join NATO," adding, "We recognize that NATO membership is impossible, and the people understand this. We rely on our own strength."

However, Russia strongly insists on Ukraine's neutralization and the separation and independence of the Donbas region, while Ukraine opposes these demands, so further progress in negotiations is expected before an actual peace agreement can be signed.

Vladimir Medinsky, presidential advisor and head of the Russian negotiation team, said at a press conference on the same day, "The Ukrainian side proposed to Russia a form of neutral country similar to Sweden or Austria," adding, "Discussions are also underway regarding restrictions on the armament of the Ukrainian military."

However, Ukraine has denied these claims. Mykhailo Podolyak, head of the Ukrainian negotiation team and advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office, tweeted, "It was Russia that proposed the neutralization model like Austria and Sweden, and we have expressed our rejection of that proposal," emphasizing, "We are currently at war directly with Russia, and accepting neutralization would require security guarantees from other countries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.