Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday it was time for Moscow to agree to “get together” to “discuss” peace seriously in order to spare Russia “multigenerational” consequences, while Russian forces claimed to have entered Mariupol following several days of siege.
“Peace and security negotiations for Ukraine are Russia’s only chance to minimize the damage caused by its own mistakes,” Zelensky said in a video posted to Facebook, filmed in a street at night. deserted.
“It is time to come together. It’s time to discuss. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine”, pleaded the Head of State. “Otherwise, he warned, the losses for Russia will be such that it will take several generations to recover from them”.
Several rounds of negotiations between kyiv and Moscow have taken place face-to-face and by videoconference since the Russian invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24. The fourth opened on Monday at the level of delegations negotiating remotely.
The head of the Russian delegation spoke on Friday evening of a “reconciliation” of positions on the question of a neutral status for Ukraine – like Sweden and Austria – and progress on demilitarization from the country. However, he noted “nuances” regarding the “security guarantees” demanded by Ukraine.
But a member of the Ukrainian delegation, the adviser to the presidency Mikhaïlo Podoliak, indicated that the “declarations of the Russian side are only their requests for departure”. “Our position has not changed: ceasefire, withdrawal of (Russian) troops and strong security guarantees with concrete formulas,” he tweeted.
