Ukraine's future military status will be a key issue of the peace talks in Istanbul, said diplomat and former French ambassador to the US Gerard Arro in an article for Le Point magazine.
"The key issue will be the military status of Ukraine. It is necessary to find a solution that, on the one hand, avoids the disarmament of Ukraine, paving the way for its "vassalization", and on the other hand, satisfies Russia's demand not to admit Ukraine to NATO," he writes.
According to Aro, NATO can agree to the condition that as long as the ceasefire is observed, no troops can be on Ukrainian territory.
"It is also inevitable that the European Union will lift some of the sanctions imposed on Russia," he writes.
The author also expressed the opinion that due to the "belligerent" position of the head of European diplomacy, Kaia Kallas, there is no hope that Russia will agree to consider it as an interlocutor.