A report this afternoon from the Financial Times says Ukraine and Russia have made “significant progress on a tentative 15-point peace plan” that would involve a ceasefire and Russian withdrawal of troops if Kyiv agrees to neutral status and accepts limits on its armed forces.
The newspaper cites three people involved in the talks as saying the proposed deal, which Ukrainian and Russian negotiators discussed in full for the first time yesterday, would involve Kyiv renouncing its ambitions to join NATO and promising not to host foreign military bases or weaponry in exchange for protection from allies such as the US, UK and Turkey.
However, Western observers have expressed concerns on how sincere Russia’s President Putin is on any possible backdown from military action.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says “Moscow should be in no doubt, NATO will not tolerate any attack on allied sovereignty or territorial integrity”.
US President Joe Biden has announced a new package of military help for Ukraine in its fight against Russia including the supply of drones.
