MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Ukraine relinquishing the accession to NATO and the EU and returning to neutral non-aligned status is one of the conditions of a successful peace process, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with TASS.

The senior diplomat noted that Russia’s approach to settling the conflict around Ukraine remained the same, it involves "defending the people of Donbass, the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine and the elimination of threats to Russia’s security emanating from its territory."

"We are confident that the settlement is possible only with a complete cessation of military action by Ukrainian troops and of Western arms supplies. In order to achieve comprehensive, fair and stable peace, Ukraine must return to its neutral non-aligned status enshrined in its 1990 state sovereignty declaration and refuse to join NATO and the EU," Galuzin stressed.

He added that the protection of the rights of Russian speakers and ethnic minorities was an essential element of the peace settlement.