Russia demands Ukrainian army withdrawal before comprehensive ceasefire

AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS

Russia has asked Ukraine, before accepting a comprehensive ceasefire, to first withdraw its army from four regions that Moscow considers annexed, Russian news agencies report.

According to the Russian memorandum for ending the war, which was handed over to the Ukrainian side today at talks in Istanbul, Moscow demands the complete withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from the partially occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, and Zaporozhye and Kherson in the south, before the 30-day ceasefire comes into effect.

Russia also conditions the end of the war on international legal recognition of these regions and Crimea, annexed in 2014, Hina reports.

It also demands the lifting of economic sanctions and that Ukraine renounce its claims for war reparations from Russia.

The memorandum also mentions Ukraine's "neutrality" as a condition, a ban on the deployment of foreign military formations, military bases and military infrastructure on its territory, and the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army to an agreed distance from the border with Russia.

TASS and RIA Novosti report that the document also calls for the cessation of Western arms deliveries to Kiev and the sharing of intelligence, as well as a ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Russia demands that Ukraine release "political prisoners", both military and civilian, that it holds in prisons, and also demands respect for the "rights, freedoms and interests of the Russian-speaking population".

Regarding the "denazification" of Ukraine, the document also provides for the disbandment of "Ukrainian nationalist formations" within the armed forces.

Ukraine has repeatedly rejected these demands.