Russia says negotiations making progress

Moscow and Kyiv are "halfway there" in agreeing on the issue of Ukraine's demilitarisation, and their views are most aligned on Ukraine's neutrality and giving up on joining Nato, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky says, News.az reports citing BBC.

The Russian Interfax news agency quotes Medinsky as saying negotiating teams have been discussing security guarantees should Ukraine no longer attempt to join the Western military alliance.

President Vladimir Putin yesterday told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan what Russia's precise demands were for a peace deal with Ukraine.

Chief among them is an acceptance by Ukraine that it should be neutral and should not apply to join Nato. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has already conceded this.

There are other demands in this category, which mostly seem to be face-saving elements for the Russian side. Ukraine would have to undergo a disarmament process to ensure it wasn't a threat to Russia. There would have to be protection for the Russian language in Ukraine.

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