Talks pragmatic, Zelenskyy-Putin meet likely soon: Ukraine negotiator

The key component of discussions between Russia and Ukraine in anbul was a multilateral security agreement backed other countries as guarantors. However, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that there has not been any abatement of assault Russian forces either in Kyiv or Chernihiv, as Russia had announced, and the trust deficit still remains.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily statement on Tuesday evening, after the negotiations, that the “signals we hear from the negotiating platform can be called positive” but, he said, “these signals do not drown out the ruptures of Russian shells”.
“Of course, we see all the risks. Of course, we see no reason to trust the words of certain representatives of a state that continues to fight for our destruction. Ukrainians are not naive people. Ukrainians have already learned during these 34 days of invasion and over the past eight years of the war in Donbass that only a concrete result can be trusted.”
Speaking to journals through a video link on Wednesday Mykhailo Podoliak, President’s adviser and member of Ukraine’s negotiating team, said through a translator, “We have not seen any abatement of fighting. We have seen the same assaults launched on our city. There are some minor manoeuvres, but they aren’t common. Second, these could be tactical moves units adjusting to regroup from other directions which has been denied to them as we have powerful defences.”

ExplainedHope from anbulzelenskyy’s adviser and member of the negotiating team in Turkey, Mykhailo Podoliak, told the media that talks were pragmatic and there will be specific security guarantees, agreement made with countries that will take international legal obligations. With this treaty, the countries will be able to build another much more effective security architecture for the world, he said, adding, along with the permanent members of the UNSC, Ukraine would also want Turkey, Germany and Poland on board.

They are willing to redeploy their troops to Donetsk, Luhansk and Mariupol, which are of great importance to them, since they are running short of reserves, they could regroup their forces, Podolik said.
He said if the assault is reduced, as Russian negotiators said, “we will consider that Russia, making this decision, is making a step towards us and a step towards peace, towards ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from the territory of Ukraine”.
Officials from Kyiv satellite city Irpin, and Chernihiv, also stated that there is no relief from the constant shelling and attacks from Russian troops.
Discussing the negotiations in Turkey, Podolik said that “the key takeaways are that we have begun to talk pragmatically. There is a lot of discussions we have been fighting for 34 days, against a powerful Russian Army”.
“We are talking constructively now, and it will not be fantasies but specific security guarantees, agreement made with countries that will take international legal obligations. And if a country attempts to attack us, we will also have clear protection in place. It is important that if we sign the international multilateral treat about security guarantee for Ukraine. It will also have its Army and security guarantees with allies standing with Ukraine, powerful armies with nuclear deterrent.”

He explained that two parallel processes are going on, and both are “clearly synchronised the President”. Any war, Podolik said, “entails a negotiations track, and the second track is the defence mounted the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. Any victories the armed forces are used as “negotiation levers”.
“During the first round of negotiations, Russia spoke of ultimatums, and they thought they will complete their special operations very soon. Now, we have very clear, very specific construction, that we have received owing to the Ukrainian Army.” He mentioned that now Russians are talking to Ukraine “in different terms”.
Podolik stressed that “sovereignty and territorial integrity is non-negotiable for us”.
The proposed treaty, he said, can lead to a new security architecture, not just for Europe, but for the world. Older formulas for European and global security have proven to be “ineffective”.

“(With) this treaty, centred around Ukraine, the countries will be able to build, another much more effective security architecture for the world.” He said that along with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, Ukraine would also want Turkey, Germany and Poland, and it will be “an open treaty, and anybody can join”.
However, he said there is a process that has to be followed, “for the security treaty to become international law, it has be enacted a referendum (within Ukraine), then enacted the Parliament of the securing countries and then the Ukrainian Parliament”.
But a referendum cannot happen today because of the war and the martial law that is in place in the country. “The procedure for the referendum is clear and well balanced, and will start the procedure only after Russian troops leave our territory. To the positions as of February 23.” He said that the Vienna Convention states that “any treaty signed in the presence of foreign troops will not be deemed effective” thus a referendum will be launched, and martial law removed “only after Russian troops leave our territory.”
Speaking about the possibility of meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Podolik said that “the package of the documents for the meeting” is ready and “we have submitted our suggestions to the Russian party, that in principle, this is time to prepare the presidential-level meeting.”
“When is that going to happen is rather a logical question as the Russians need to go over our suggestions, give some preliminary response. Now, we are working at the working group level, online, clarifying different points. The package of documents is ready.”
He said that the “key document is the security guarantees treaty and the armice”, and added that a presidential-level meeting can happen “sometime soon”. “We are in a state of war. Every day means more people will be killed and infrastructure will be razed to the ground Russia. We are pressed for time.”

He said that major liaison between legal, military, and diplomatic groups is happening continuously, to work out the details of the treaty. “We came to anbul to define the intermediate positions. In our opinion, as we see from the negotiating team, we are seeing a possibility to sign preliminary agreements, and launch the presidential meeting process. So, in two or four days, we will have a final version that will be confirmed the Russians with amendments. Then we can reach the next round of negotiations.”
What Russia will accept, however, he said, he cannot say. “But we know that a way for them out of war has to be an adequate one. And the formula of security treaty is a way to pass the bilateral treaty on war and peace between Russia and Ukraine. As we feel, a bilateral treaty will not be secured and Russia can always breach bilateral agreements. But in multilateral agreement where Russia would undertake its commitment, before other guaranteeing countries, it would be an opportunity for the Russian party to save face.”
He said, thus, “in principle they are accepting the treaty as there can be no other formula, based on the preliminary results of the war that we have attained so far, where Ukraine has shown fierce resance to the mighty army of Russia”.