Russia Not Opposed To Ukraine Joining EU - Russian Delegation Head Medinsky

The head of the Russian negotiating delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, has said that Russia is not opposed to Ukraine joining the European Union.

He said this following talks with the Ukrainian delegation on Tuesday, March 29, in Istanbul (Turkey), Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"For its part, the Russian Federation does not object to Ukraine's desire to join the European Union," Medinsky said.

The head of the Russian delegation confirmed the receipt of written proposals from Ukraine, in particular that Ukraine is ready to declare itself a permanently neutral state under international legal guarantees in order to realize non-bloc and nuclear-free status.

He also noted that the Ukrainian side provided a list of states guaranteeing the security of Ukraine.

Security guarantees do not apply to the Crimea and Donbas.

According to Medinsky, this means that Ukraine refuses the desire to return Crimea and Sevastopol militarily, but allows the return of these territories only through negotiations, which does not correspond to the position of Russia.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Ukraine offered the Russian side key positions on the security guarantee agreement.