The head of the Russian negotiating delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that his country does not share the Ukrainian side's optimism about the imminent holding of a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stressing that this needs more work.
Medinsky added that the draft agreement between Russia and Ukraine is not yet ready for presentation to the summit of the two presidents.
He explained that negotiations have been continuing via video technology since the first of April on a daily basis, and a session will be held today, including one that will continue until tomorrow.
Medinsky stated that the Ukrainian side has become more realistic in its approach to the issue of Ukraine's neutrality without nuclear weapons, he said.
He stressed that the statements of the Ukrainian delegation regarding Crimea and Donbass are directed to the Ukrainian public, because Moscow's position has not changed in this regard, as he put it.
Ukraine's position
And the Ukrainian "Interfax" agency had quoted the Kyiv delegation to the negotiations that Moscow had accepted the Ukrainian position, with the exception of the situation in Crimea.
The Ukrainian delegation added that Moscow indicated progress in draft agreements, allowing direct consultations between Putin and Zelensky.
While the head of the Ukrainian delegation indicated that the date and place of the meeting between Zelensky and Putin has not yet been determined, but that it is likely to be held in Turkey.
He added that there are active consultations on security guarantees, and that three of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries have formally agreed to provide those guarantees, namely Turkey, Germany and Italy.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation stressed that the next step, in the event of obtaining the necessary security guarantees, is to amend the country's constitution regarding the status of neutrality;
He pointed out that this matter will be after holding a referendum, because it is the prerogative of the people, not the politicians.
Kremlin denial
The Kremlin denied that Putin had refused to meet Zelensky, noting that that meeting would be possible when a specific, agreed-upon document was ready, as he put it.
The Russian presidency affirmed its confidence that the military operation in Ukraine will achieve its goals in full, expressing its hope that agreements will be reached through negotiations.
And on Western sanctions against Putin, the Kremlin said that they show that the West is capable of committing many fools.
He added that Moscow does not want to complicate the lives of its Western partners who buy gas from it, and respects its reputation as a reliable supplier.
The Kremlin said that the decision to pay in rubles would not apply to sales of Russian gas alone, but would include other goods.