After the meeting in Turkey, it seems that now the Russian attack on Ukraine is in its final stages. Russia said it would reduce military activity around Kyiv after “meaningful” talks in Istanbul, Turkey. In return, Ukraine has assured to remain neutral with international guarantees.

It is the first time since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine on February 24 that Russia has shown some leniency. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said on Tuesday that Moscow has decided to “radically cut” operations near Kyiv and Chernihiv to “increase confidence” in ongoing talks to end the war.

He said Russian forces would cut military activities in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv. Talks were held in Turkey on Tuesday between the interlocutors of Russia and Ukraine about the ‘end of the war’.

It is believed that Ukraine may give up its insistence on joining NATO. Only after that Russia will announce the withdrawal of its troops. Both sides have supported holding such meetings in future also.

Could Putin and Zelensky meet soon?

It is reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin may meet. Ukraine’s negotiator David Arkhamia said there were now “enough” conditions for a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Arkhamia called for “an international mechanism of security guarantees where the guarantor countries would act similar to NATO’s article number five – even more vigorously.” After a one-on-one meeting in Turkey, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said that “negotiations on Ukraine’s neutrality and non-nuclear status have now moved to a practical area.”

He said that therefore in the cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv “it has been decided to reduce military activity manifold.” Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said the talks had resulted in “meaningful discussions”.