Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday (25 March) that while negotiations were ‘not easy’ there is some ‘momentum’ towards an agreement on four out of six points between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Erdogan made the statement at a press conference after the NATO emergency summit, according to the press service of the Turkish President.
"There are six main points of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. But neither side accepts all six of them, however we see that the parties are close to an agreement on four points", - Erdogan said, answering questions from reporters.
According to him, the parties are close to an agreement on such issues as NATO membership, disarmament, security guarantees and the official status of the Russian language in Ukraine.
Erdogan says no consensus has been reached on the territorial status of the Crimea and Donbas.
Ukraine cannot fulfill Russia's ultimatum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba denied Erdogan’s statement that Russia and Ukraine made progress on their negotiations to halt the war and to get to an agreement on most points under negotiations.
Kuleba thanked Turkey and personally President Erdogan for all the help, but stressed that there was no "agreement" in the Ukraine-Russia talks.
"There is no agreement with Russia on the four points mentioned by the Turkish president. For example, the only official language in Ukraine is and will remain to be Ukrainian language. Overall, the ranking and prioritization of the four key topics is not correct”, - said Kuleba.
According to Dmytro Kuleba, the negotiation process is "extremely complex".
"The Ukrainian delegation has taken a strong position and is not renouncing its demands. We insist on a ceasefire, security guarantees and Ukraine's territorial integrity. Ukraine will continue its dialogue with Turkey and all other stakeholders to restore peace in Ukraine. We hope that Turkey, as a friend and strategic partner of Ukraine, will also continue to support us", - said the Foreign Minister.
He added that stronger sanctions against Russia and support of the Ukraine Army would also help to stop Russian aggression and make progress in the negotiations.
"Such a tripartite strategy - sanctions, military support, negotiations - should not be questioned by anyone," Dmytro Kuleba said.