Ukraine may put neutral status on nationwide referendum, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country may put the issue of neutral status on a nationwide referendum, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

If Russia's desire for Ukraine's neutral status is one of the provisions of the agreements on ending the conflict, "we are ready to consider this neutral status for Ukraine," Zelensky was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

However, the referendum would be possible only after Ukraine receives security guarantees from "specific countries," he added.

At the peace talks with Russia in Istanbul, Turkey in March, Kiev proposed to sign a new international treaty on security guarantees, which enshrines obligations for the guarantor countries to provide Ukraine with military assistance in the event of an attack.

In 2014, the Ukrainian parliament renounced Ukraine's "non-aligned" status with the aim of deepening cooperation with NATO.

--IANS

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