Member of the Ukrainian delegation Podolyak: negotiations with Russia may last several weeks or longer

Advisor to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, a member of the Ukrainian delegation Mykhailo Podolyak said that negotiations with Russia could last several weeks. It is reported by RIA Novosti.

“The process may be delayed, given the number of mutually exclusive positions,” he added.

Recall that since the beginning of the special military operation, the parties have held three rounds of negotiations. From Russia, an assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky was sent to them. Currently, negotiations are held daily via videoconference.

The day before, Medinsky said that it was possible to discuss the possibility of a meeting between the presidents of the Russian Federation and Ukraine only after the text of the agreement between the two countries was approved. First, the text of the document should be prepared and agreed upon by the negotiators. After that, it must be initialed by the Foreign Ministers and approved by the governments of Russia and Ukraine. “Only after that it makes sense to talk about the summit of heads of state,” he said.

Earlier, Medinsky said that during the negotiations, Moscow and Kiev managed to bring their positions closer on the issue of the neutral status of Ukraine. “The topic of neutral status and non-accession of Ukraine to NATO is one of the key points of the negotiations. This is the point on which the parties have brought their positions as close as possible,” he stressed.

Recall that on February 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), and on February 24 he addressed the Russians and announced the start of a special military operation in Donbass.