Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine began Monday in Belarus, the first talks between the two countries since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Belarusian state news agency BELTA.
• Read also: [EN DIRECT] Follow the course of the 5th day of the Russian offensive
• Read also: Russia in the hot seat at the UN in Geneva
The Kremlin adviser Vladimir Medinski chairs the Russian delegation, while that of Kiev is led by the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksiï Reznikov, who came in khaki military uniform.
“You can feel completely safe,” declared the head of Belarusian diplomacy, Vladimir Makeï, welcoming them.
Through the voice of its spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin declared that it did not want to “announce” its position during these negotiations which “must be done in silence”.
For Kiev, “the key issue is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of (Russian) troops from Ukrainian territory,” the Ukrainian presidency said on Monday.
The talks are being held at one of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s residences on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, in the Gomel region, not far from the damaged Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which is on Ukrainian territory.
They take place while the Russian offensive, launched on February 24, comes up once morest the resistance of the Ukrainian army and sanctions of an unprecedented scale, adopted by the West, shake the Russian economy.
- Listen to the news review of Philippe-Vincent Foisy and Alexandre Moranville-Ouellet on QUB radio:
Kiev demands an “immediate” ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces
The Ukrainian delegation arrived Monday morning at the site of negotiations with Russia to demand an “immediate” ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops, the Ukrainian presidency announced.
Photo AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
“The Ukrainian delegation has arrived in the Ukrainian-Belarusian border area to participate in the negotiations,” the presidency said in a statement.
“The key issue is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from Ukrainian territory,” she said.
The delegation is led by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov. He is notably accompanied by Mikhaïlo Podoliak, an adviser to the presidency.
On the fifth day of its offensive, Moscow said it wanted to find “an agreement” with Kiev during talks on Monday, while its offensive seems to meet more resistance than expected.
“Every hour that the conflict drags on, Ukrainian citizens and soldiers die. We have agreed to reach an agreement, but it must be in the interest of both parties,” Russian negotiator and Kremlin adviser Vladimir Medinsky told television.
The talks are to take place in Belarus, very close to the Ukrainian border, in the Gomel region, not far from the damaged Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which is in Ukrainian territory.
President Vladimir Putin had vowed to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine when he launched his offensive, accusing Kiev of orchestrating an alleged “genocide” of Russian speakers.
