March 16,
2022
10:32 AM
GMT+1
Last
Updated 2 hours ago
Russia says parts of a Ukraine compromise deal
are close
Reuters
"Neutral
status is now being seriously discussed along, of course, with security guarantees,"
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said told RBC news.
"Now
this very thing is being discussed in negotiations - there are absolutely
specific formulations which in my view are close to agreement," Lavrov
said.
He said
that President Vladimir Putin had spoken about neutrality, along with security
guarantees for Ukraine without NATO enlargement, as one possible variant in
February.
The euro
extended gains after Lavrov's comments and was up 0.4% to $ 1.1005.
Lavrov
cautioned that the negotiations were not easy but that there was "some
hope of reaching a compromise".
Ukraine has
also made cautious positive statements on peace talks. It says it is willing to
negotiate to the end the war, but will not surrender or accept Russian
ultimatums.
Lavrov said
key issues included the security of people in eastern Ukraine, the
demilitarisation of Ukraine and the rights of Russian-speaking people in
Ukraine.
Announcing
the invasion on Feb. 24, Putin blamed the United States for threatening Russia
by enlarging the NATO military alliance eastwards into Russia's backyard.
Putin said
there was no option but to launch the military operation because
Russian-speaking people in Ukraine had been subjected to genocide by
"nationalists and neo-Nazis" since Russia's 2014 annexation of
Crimea.
Ukraine and
the West says claims of genocide are baseless.
Reporting
by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Jon Boyle
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