Details filtering from the talks in Istanbul raised hopes after more than a month of war that has left thousands dead and millions displaced.
Read more: PM Imran Khan ready to share 'threat letter' with CJP: Asad Umar
Kyiv s negotiator David Arakhamia said there were "sufficient" conditions for President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to meet in a push to end Europe s worst conflict in decades.
On the Russian side, chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky called the talks "meaningful," while the country s deputy defence minister, Alexander Fomin, reported progress on "the neutrality and non-nuclear status" of Ukraine -- two central Russian concerns.
Russia, Fomin said, had decided to "radically, by several times reduce the military activity" around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernigiv.
Zelensky himself sounded a note of cautious optimism following the day s talks -- though he said the "positive" signals "do not drown out the explosions or Russian shells" and vowed in a video address late Tuesday to keep up defence efforts.
Read more: Biden sticks to suggestion Putin should step down
But the United States cast clear doubt on Moscow s words, and vowed with fellow Western powers to keep "raising the costs" on Russia.
And by Tuesday evening Ukraine s general staff -- while confirming Russian units were withdrawing from the Kyiv and Chernigiv regions -- said it was most likely a troop rotation intended to "mislead" Ukraine s military.
from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/nVSxcw6
via
