Lavrov has interpreted Ukraine's proposals as giving up Crimea and Donbas, and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has responded

KATERYNA TISHCHENKO - WEDNESDAY, 30 MARCH 2022, 19:06

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has seen Ukraine's proposals at the Istanbul talks as agreeing to a "final solution" to the Crimea and Donbas issues, while the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has called his understanding flawed.

Source: Lavrov in comments to journalists in China; Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Mykolenko in comments to Ukrainska Pravda

Details: The Russian Foreign Minister said Russia regards the results of Tuesday's talks in Istanbul "as positive progress".

According to Lavrov: "This is not yet a final result, but I consider the fact that the Ukrainian negotiators have confirmed the need to ensure Ukraine's non-nuclear non-aligned status, and confirmed the need to ensure its security outside the framework of the North Atlantic alliance constitutes significant progress.

Just as I consider the understanding by our Ukrainian colleagues that the issues of Crimea and Donbas have been finally resolved to be progress.

More details: Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Mykolenko said that Lavrov was displaying a flawed understanding of the negotiating process.

According to Mykolenko: "The issues of Crimea and Donbas will be finally resolved once Ukraine's sovereignty is restored over them. At the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation just submitted proposals on how to achieve this goal for Moscow's consideration."

Background:

• On 29 March, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations held another round of talks in Istanbul on conditions for restoring peace. The two sides did not sign anything, but outlined the final proposals they had been working on after meetings on 28 February, 3 March and 7 March. 
• Ukraine is counting on UN Security Council countries (Britain, China, Russia, USA, France, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland, Israel) and others to become guarantors of Ukraine's security as an alternative to admission to NATO. In the event of aggression against Ukraine, the guarantor countries must consult and assist Ukraine with armed forces, weapons, and a no-fly zone within 3 days. Such security guarantees would not work on the territories of Crimea and the so-called Separate Districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions.
• The Ukrainian delegation also proposed that the status of Crimea and Sevastopol be resolved within 15 years through bilateral negotiations, while the issue of Donbas would be resolved through direct negotiations between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia.
• The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinskiy, believes that in Istanbul Ukraine said that it was ready to meet Russia's "principal requirements," while he said nothing about Russia withdrawing troops from Ukraine and making it clear that the Kremlin will not compromise on Crimea and Donbas.