Russia - Ukraine Talks End In Istanbul. No Ceasefire Announced

RFE: Ukraine-Russia Talks Show Signs Of Progress, Moscow Pledges To Ease Up

Russia and Ukraine appeared to make progress in their first face-to-face talks in more than two weeks, with Moscow saying it was scaling down its military operations around Kyiv and northern Ukraine, while Ukraine said it would accept being neutral.

Delegations from the two sides held talks in Istanbul on March 29 as Russia, more than a month into its unprovoked invasion, continued to encounter stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces, which made gains in some areas by retaking ground on the outskirts of the capital region.

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WNU Editor: This is a first small step, but these talks still have a long way to go before some agreement is reached.

On the Ukraine side they have accepted on some intellectual level that they will never be a member of NATO and have offered some proposals on being neutral. But from what I am reading and hearings, the Ukraine government has offered proposals that in my opinion the Russian government will not accept. I expect Moscow's official response in the coming days.

Both sides are also far apart on issues like .... the Ukraine military, the status of Donbas, the status of Crimea, and the status of the Russian language in Ukraine. I still see no common ground between the two sides on these points. And there is the issue of trust, which is completely non-existent between the two sides.

In the next meeting I expect some agreement on humanitarian corridors and local ceasefires in northern Ukraine, but the big battles will still rage on in eastern Ukraine until the Kremlin's military and strategic goals have been reached.