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Russia-Ukraine draft peace treaty was 75% agreed in April, Russian envoy says

Russia handed over the document to the Ukrainian side on April 15, Vladimir Medinsky recalled

Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky Vyacheslav Prokofyev/TASS

Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky

© Vyacheslav Prokofyev/TASS

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. A draft peace treaty between Ukraine and Russia was 75% agreed in April, Russian Presidential Aide, Head of Russia’s delegation at talks with the Ukrainian side Vladimir Medinsky said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday.

"We held intensive talks with the Ukrainian side for a long time on the terms of the post-crisis settlement. These negotiations came to an end on April 15 when we handed over a draft treaty agreed by the negotiating groups to the Ukrainian side. It was 75% agreed," Medinsky told reporters.

The Russia-Ukraine negotiations have been ongoing since February 28. Several meetings took place in Belarus, following which the sides continued their talks via a video link-up. A face-to-face round was held in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on April 12 that Kiev had departed from the accords reached in Turkey and brought this process to a deadlock. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on April 20 that Moscow had handed over to Kiev its draft document on agreements with clear-cut formulations and expected a reply. The Russian side also emphasized that putting the negotiations on hold was a completely Ukrainian initiative.

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