Turkey claims Ukraine and Russia have inched closer to peace deal
Ukraine and Russia have moved closer toward a peace deal and have agreed on four points in principle, according to Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Cavusoglu told local Turkish media today that there had been a “convergence” between the Russian and Ukrainian governments during peace talks over the past week.
He said there had been particular convergence around Ukraine declaring itself neutral between Russia and Nato.
It has been reported that talks are also centred around things like the status of the Russian language, the size of Ukraine’s military and the full withdrawal of Russian troops.
“On important subjects, critical subjects, there is a convergence between the two sides,” Cavusoglu said.
“Especially on the first four points we see that they have almost reached agreement.”
Foreign secretary Liz Truss heaped doubt on the talks yesterday, saying that Vladimir Putin could be using them as a “smokescreen” to buy time for his faltering army to recalibrate.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN today that the talks were worth having even if there was only a “one per cent chance of success”.