Topics: Russia, Ukraine, World News
Russia will halt its military action 'in a moment' if Ukraine meets three demands, according to a Kremlin spokesperson.
In new comments, Dmitry Peskov appeared to suggest an off-ramp for the Russian invasion would rely on three conditions being accepted by Kyiv, as it emerged that both countries' foreign ministers are set to meet in Turkey later this week.
Russia is demanding that Ukraine ends its own military action, changes its constitution to enshrine neutrality and end the possibility of joining blocs like NATO or the EU, and recognises Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.
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Peskov claimed that Ukraine had been informed of the demands, and that 'they were told that all this can be stopped in a moment'.
'We really are finishing the demilitarisation of Ukraine. We will finish it. But the main thing is that Ukraine ceases its military action. They should stop their military action and then no one will shoot,' the Kremlin spokesperson told Reuters.
'They should make amendments to their constitution according to which Ukraine would reject any aims to enter any bloc. We have also spoken about how they should recognise that Crimea is Russian territory and that they need to recognise that Donetsk and Lugansk are independent states. And that’s it. It will stop in a moment.'
The articulation of the three demands is the most explicit comment made by Russia about its conditions for ending its invasion of Ukraine since it began 12 days ago.
It comes as Ukrainian officials confirmed they'd arrived for a third round of talks with their Russian counterparts in Belarus. Separately, Turkey announced that it would host Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba for talks in Antalya on Thursday, March 10, per The Telegraph.
The meeting appears set to be the first face-to-face negotiations between the two countries' top diplomats since the war began.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said that he is open to diplomacy between his country and Russia, but has expressed scepticism that any progress could be made as a result of the talks, having already said he would reject the imposition of conditions on Ukraine by Russia.
News of the talks comes as Russia remains frustrated by a strong Ukrainian defence, having so far failed to capture a majority of its key targets and reportedly struggling with logistical issues.
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