Ukraine has been invited to the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit scheduled for April 6-7. The summit will be held in Brussels. Other non-member states invited are Georgia, Finland, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, reported Kyiv Independent.
Meanwhile, after the first day of a delegation-level meeting between Russia-Ukraine in Istanbul today, the Russian delegation announced steps for a "drastic reduction in military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions" and the possibility of meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This comes as part of two steps that the Russian delegation announced to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine reported CNN citing news agency RIA-Novosti.
The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, called the negotiations "constructive".
Moreover, Russia is beginning to withdraw some forces, including Russian Battalion Tactical Groups (BTGs) leaving the surrounding areas around the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that enough progress was made during the talks in Istanbul to allow Putin and Zelensky to meet. "We have documents prepared now which allow the presidents to meet on a bilateral basis," he said.
"The Russian delegation is constructive and aware. This doesn't mean that negotiations are easy. They are very difficult. But the Russian side is paying attention to the Russian proposals, to the Ukrainian proposals," he added.
Amid the heavy bombardments and shelling ongoing in Ukraine, the latest round of peace talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations kicked off at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul today.
(With ANI inputs)
