Draft ceasefire agreement drops mention of 3 of Moscow's key demands

Russia is set to drop its demand that Ukraine be "de-nazified" and could be prepared to let the country join the EU, it was claimed.

Ahead of the face-to-face talks between the two countries in Turkey, a draft ceasefire agreement has dropped mention of three of Moscow's key demands at the start of the war, the Daily Mail reported.

According to four people "briefed on the discussions", it would appear Russia is now prepared to leave the Kiev leadership in place, ditch a demand that Ukraine "demilitarise" and drop legal protection for the Russian language, the Financial Times reported.

Moscow may also allow Ukraine to join the European Union, it was claimed, as long as it dropped any hopes of joining NATO - a compromise that President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated he might accept.

But officials in Kyiv were said to be wary that Moscow was changing its position on an almost daily basis and were fearful that Russia was dangling the promise of peace to buy time to regroup on the battlefield, Daily Mail reported.

As a pretext for his invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said his goal was "to protect people" who have been "subjected to bullying and genocide" by the "neo-Nazi" leadership of President Zelensky, who is Jewish.

But there is now the suggestion that he might allow the Ukrainian leader to remain in power once the conflict is over.