Officials from the Kremlin floated the notion of Ukraine being a politically neutral nation as a compromise in the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
This compromise would mean that Ukraine would have its army but maintain a level of neutrality like Sweden by not attaching itself to any military alliances, including NATO. This comparison was made less than a day after Sweden announced that it would consider membership in NATO.
“This is a variant that is currently being discussed and which could be seen as a compromise,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to RIA News Agency.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed these notions. Lavrov told RBC News that “neutral status is now being seriously discussed along, of course, with security guarantees” and that there are “absolutely specific formulations, which in my view are close to an agreement.”
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Ukraine has not commented on or confirmed the offer of neutrality. While Ukrainian leaders such as President Volodymyr Zelensky said they were willing to discuss peace, they avoided acquiescing to Russian demands. Zelensky said on Wednesday that peace talks are “sounding more realistic,” but peace will require more time. The Ukrainian president also said during a Wednesday speech that Ukraine realized the futility of Ukraine’s attempts to join NATO despite Russia’s concerns about the nation entering the military alliance.
Lavrov also accused U.S. officials of not wanting to resolve the conflict and said the United States has a decisive role in defining the positions of Ukrainian authorities.
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Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met on Tuesday for their fourth round of peace negotiations. While the two countries have agreed to establish humanitarian corridors for refugee purposes, there has been little else that the two nations have agreed upon to resolve Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, officials from both countries appear convinced that progress in the negotiation process was attainable.
