Lavrov announced wordings close to agreement in the dialogue with Ukraine

The delegations of RUSSIA and Ukraine worked out specific language during the talks, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with RBC TV.

“The neutral status [of Ukraine] is now, by and large, being seriously discussed in conjunction, of course, with security guarantees. <...> There are absolutely specific wordings that, in my opinion, are close to being agreed upon,” Lavrov said.

According to him, Moscow is ready to agree on the deployment in Ukraine of those types of weapons that do not threaten Russia. Weapons posing a threat to Moscow should not be located on the territory of a neighboring state, even if Ukraine does not join NATO, Lavrov explained. He drew attention to the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine.

The Foreign Minister also pointed out that the negotiations are not easy, but there is hope for a compromise. He stressed that the representatives of the Ukrainian delegation give the same assessment.