Big Gap Remains in Peace Talks Between Russia And Ukraine

• Ukraine and Russia are taking peace talks seriously but a very big gap remains between the two sides, Western officials said on Thursday, adding Russian President Vladimir Putin did not seem in the mood to compromise. 
• Although both sides have pointed to limited progress in peace talks this week, Putin showed little sign of relenting during a televised speech in which he inveighed against "traitors and scum" at home who helped the West, and said the Russian people would spit them out like gnats. 
• Both sides are taking the talks seriously but there is a very, very big gap between the positions in question, one Western official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 
• A Ukrainian negotiator has said that a "model" of legally binding security guarantees that would offer Ukraine protection from a group of allies in the event of a future attack is "on the negotiating table" at talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

(Source: Reuters)