Taken from BBC News Mundo
Russia announced on Tuesday that it will reduce attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv in northern Ukraine as negotiations with the Ukrainian government in Turkey progress.
This statement, made by the Russian Ministry of Defense, came after envoys of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed at Tuesday's meeting that his country adopt a neutral status - one of Russia's key demands - in exchange for international security guarantees.
Neutral status means that Ukraine refrains from any attempt to join military alliances such as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) or to have foreign military bases on its territory.
"Due to the fact that negotiations for an agreement on the neutrality and non-nuclear status of Ukraine and security guarantees (for Ukraine) are entering a practical stage, and taking into account the principles discussed during today's meeting, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has decided to drastically reduce combat operations in the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas in order to strengthen mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for future negotiations and for the signing of the aforementioned agreement," said Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, who was part of the negotiating team in Istanbul.
The proposals from Zelensky's government also include a 15-year period of talks on the situation in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, and would only come into effect in the event of a complete ceasefire, Ukrainian negotiators said.
Russian forces appeared to have stalled in Kyiv on Tuesday. Earlier, the UK Ministry of Defence had said that Ukrainian forces had managed to push back the Russians from several positions.
However, Russia stated shortly afterwards that the attacks would not cease for the time being.
"This is not a ceasefire, but this is our aspiration: to gradually achieve a de-escalation of the conflict, at least on these fronts," said Vladimir Medinsky, Moscow's negotiator, in an interview with the TASS news agency.
The besieged city of Chernihiv remained under fire on Tuesday, at least until before the Russian announcement, according to Ukrainian officials.
The city's mayor estimates that 400 residents have died there since the war began.
Ukrainian negotiators stated that there was enough material in the current proposals to guarantee a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that they were awaiting Russia's response.
