The Italian government, through Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, handed over to UN Secretary General António Guterres a four-point peace plan for Ukraine.
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a ceasefire in Ukraine and the elimination of the line of hostilities under the supervision of the UN;
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negotiations on the status of Ukraine, which involve the entry of the country into EU without joining NATO;
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a bilateral agreement between Russia and Ukraine regarding Crimea and Donbass: the Italian authorities propose to give these territories full autonomy with the right to independently ensure their security, but sovereignty over the regions will belong to Kyiv;
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a multilateral agreement on peace and security in Europe, which will cover the issues of disarmament and arms control, conflict prevention and confidence-building measures.
The Italian authorities assume that this will be followed by the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, including Crimea.
In addition to the UN, according to La Repubblica, Italy also handed over a plan to resolve the conflict to the member countries of the Group of Seven, which, in addition to it, includes the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, France and the United States.
Italy proposes to set up an international team to monitor the implementation of the plan. The exact list of countries that could enter it has not yet been determined, but among the applicants are Italy, France, Germany, Turkey, the USA, China, Canada, Great Britain, Poland, Israel. It is also planned to involve the UN, the European Union and other international organizations in this process.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin does not know the details of the plan that Italy is proposing, but welcomes the participation of everyone who can help resolve the conflict in Ukraine: “The participation of everyone who can help resolve the conflict is welcome, no one rejects such sincere efforts . While we, unfortunately, do not know the details of this plan, I do not know if this was somehow brought through diplomatic channels, we learned this from the media, ”says RIA News.
Since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv have held several rounds of talks in person and remotely. The most effective was the meeting in Turkey at the end of March. Then Ukraine offered to ensure its security to countries from among the permanent members of the UN Security Council (at the same time, guarantees will not work in Crimea and part of the territory of Donbass). In return, Kyiv must accept a neutral and non-nuclear status, as well as refuse to produce and deploy all types of weapons of mass destruction.
Since the beginning of April, however, Russian authorities have said on several occasions that the talks have reached a “stalemate.” On May 17, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Andrey Rudenko said that there were no negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, they were not being held “in any form.” The suspension of discussions was confirmed by adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak: “After the Istanbul communiqué, there have been some changes, there is no progress.”
Experts believe that the reason was the withdrawal of Russian troops from the north of Ukraine, which was perceived in Kyiv as a weakness. They also say that Zelensky, after the start of receiving large shipments of military aid from Western countries, believed in victory over Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists that a diplomatic solution to the conflict is possible only after a ceasefire by Russia and the withdrawal of troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of February named among the necessary conditions “the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the solution of the tasks of demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian state, and ensuring its neutral status.”
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