The Ukraine conflict could be settled if Kiev were to re-commit to its neutral status, recognize ‘new territorial realities,’ and declare Russian as a state language, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview released on Saturday. Speaking to the TASS news agency, the diplomat said Moscow ‘is convinced that a peace settlement will be possible only if the Ukrainian armed forces cease hostilities, and Western weapons shipments are stopped.’ He also stressed that to achieve a durable peace, Ukraine ‘must return to a neutral non-aligned status’ and ‘refuse to join NATO and the EU,’ adding that Kiev should recognize the ‘new territorial realities’ that emerged after people exercised their right to self-determination.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon