Russia says Ukraine 'neutrality' key at conflict talks: What does it mean and could it help to achieve peace?

Even as Russia’s military forces battered the outskirts of the capital city of Kyiv in Ukraine, the two countries are discussing terms for Ukrainian neutrality in their negotiations as long as any mention of NATO stays out of it. Russia said Wednesday that Ukrainian neutrality was taking centre stage at ongoing talks between Moscow and Kyiv, aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to nearly three weeks of fighting. With Russia’s ground advance on Kyiv stalled despite the sustained bombardment, statements from the two sides suggested room for progress in their negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said a neutral military status for Ukraine was being “seriously discussed,” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s demands for ending the war as becoming “more realistic.” Separately, Moscow’s lead negotiator said his delegation was pushing for Ukraine to assume a status comparable to Sweden or Austria, two neutral countries in western Europe. Let’s examine what does Russia mean by Ukraine’s neutrality and how could it bring peace in the region: What is neutral status In international law, pledging neutrality is an obligation of a state to not interfere in military conflicts of other states, including avoiding military alliances such as NATO. The citizens of a neutral nation are protected from actions of a belligerent country under the law of war. Countries like Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, Finland and Austria have pledged neutrality. However, the terms of neutrality can be different for different countries. While Costa Rica is a demilitarised neutral country, Switzerland has adapted to “armed neutrality” and has barred itself from foreign deployment. Neutrality: Latest term in Russia-Ukraine talks Russian President Vladimir Putin has long asserted that Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO are a threat to Russia, something the Western military alliance denies. Hopes for diplomatic progress between Russia and Ukraine rose after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine realised it could not join NATO. It was his most explicit acknowledgement that the goal was unlikely to be met. For years, it has aspired to join NATO, especially after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, in hopes of boosting its military might in the face of Russian aggression. Since 2019, joining NATO has been enshrined in the Ukrainian constitution, something that Russia has demanded Ukraine renounces and declare itself neutral. The two sides have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at finding common ground and bringing the hostilities launched by Russian leader Vladimir Putin in late February to a halt. Ukraine’s “neutral status is now being discussed seriously, of course, alongside security guarantees,” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told the RBK business news outlet in an interview. “This is what is now being discussed at the talks. There are absolutely specific wordings and in my view, the sides are close to agreeing on them,” he added. However, Ukraine’s top negotiator Mikhailo Pdolyak said, “Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. As a result, the model can only be ‘Ukrainian’ and only on legally verified security guarantees”. Ukraine has been insisting on a legally binding security agreement, signed by international partners, who would “not stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today”. Katharine AM Wright, senior lecturer in international politics at Newcastle University, told Al Jazeera that a neutral Ukraine that cannot join NATO would need to seek security elsewhere. “A neutral Ukraine would need to seek security ties outside of NATO to prevent a recurrence of an invasion, given Russia is the aggressor this would need to come from them, but Ukraine would likely look to other members of the UN Security Council [China, France, UK, US] to help uphold this,” Wright noted. She added that a neutral Ukraine is “likely to be key to a peaceful resolution of the current conflict and to bring an end to the Russian invasion”.