At the talks representatives of Kyiv propose to create in Ukraine a Swedish or Austrian version of a demilitarized state that has its own army. TASS reports, citing the statement of the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky.
«Preservation and development of the neutral status of Ukraine, demilitarization of Ukraine — a broad range of issues related to the size of the Ukrainian army is discussed. Ukraine offers an Austrian or Swedish version of a neutral demilitarized state, but at the same time a state with its own army and navy. All these issues are discussed at the level of the leadership of the Ministries of Defense of the Russian Federation and Ukraine,» he said.
Vladimir Medinsky also reminded that Ukraine has a neutral status even now. He stressed that Ukraine withdrew from the Soviet Union in 1991 on the condition of neutrality, and this neutrality is spelled out in the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine.
«The key issue for us, of course, is the status of Crimea and Donbass, as well as a number of humanitarian issues, including denazification, the rights of the Russian-speaking population and the status of the Russian language, and so on,» Vladimir Medinsky added.
In turn, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, Mikhail Podolyak, commented to Ukrayinska Pravda on the words of the representative of the Russian delegation.
«We understand our partners’ attempt to remain a proactive party in the negotiation process. Hence the words about the «Swedish» or «Austrian» model of neutrality. But Ukraine is now in a state of direct war with Russia. Therefore, the model can only be «Ukrainian» and only with legally verified security guarantees.
What does it mean? First, absolute security guarantees. Valid, not protocol ones. This means that the signatories of the guarantees do not stand aside in case of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today. But they actively participate on the side of Ukraine in the conflict and officially ensure the immediate supply of the necessary volume of weapons to us.
Secondly, Ukraine no longer wants to depend on bureaucratic procedures that allow or do not allow closing the sky from the same cruise missiles. We need direct and strong guarantees that the sky will definitely be closed,» he said.
Situation in Ukraine remains complicated. Fighting continues. Russia started a special military operation on February 24, 2022. The number of military and civilian casualties continues to grow. Many states have imposed and continue to impose severe sanctions on Russia.
