Coordination of different positions to take time - member of Ukrainian delegation to talks with Russia Podolyak

KYIV. March 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine wants to have a specific mechanism guaranteeing its security in the future, Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office chief, said in an interview with the Polish publication WP Wiadomosci, according to the presidential press service's report on Thursday.

"An immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops are key aspects of a peace agreement. There's no other way. However, negotiations are a comprehensive process, which involves not only Russia and Ukraine. Our partners are also taking part. After all, we don't only have to sign a treaty. We want to develop a specific mechanism guaranteeing our security in the future," Podolyak, who is a member of the Ukrainian delegation in the negotiations with Russia, said in the interview.

The Ukrainian and the Russian delegation are currently promoting their positions in the negotiations, and therefore, the coordination of differences might take some time, Podolyak said. "In this time, we should advance toward concluding a peace agreement," he said.

Ukraine is seeking to make sure that an agreement includes a detailed and legally calibrated plan for the withdrawal of Russian troops and that the agreement is supported by Ukraine's international partners, he said.

"It is precisely foreign states that would guarantee the implementation of its conditions and Ukraine's security in the future. This is an innovative formula whose author is President Volodymyr Zelensky, which could become a basis for setting up an absolutely new security system in Europe," he said.

Ukraine will not accept compromises that could be detrimental to its interests, Podolyak said. "We may discuss any issues, but we won't agree to any ultimatums," he said.

va