DNegotiations between Russia and Ukraine have started, Advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Mykhailo Podoliak said in a text message. Zelenskyy’s office previously said that the aim of the talks was an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. According to Ukrainian reports, this also includes Crimea, which Russia has annexed since 2014, and the separatist areas in the Donbass.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the armed forces to continue attacks against the neighbor despite the talks. The fighting continued unchanged, with both sides claiming success. This could not be verified independently.
The Ukrainian and Russian side in negotiations in Belarus
Source: dpa/Sergei Kholodilin
The delegations from Russia and Ukraine met at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. The Russian delegation was led by the Kremlin’s special envoy, Vladimir Medinsky. Presidential faction leader David Arakhamiya headed the Ukrainian side.
A day before the peace talks, a Russian diplomat surprisingly apologized for the Russian attack. As the Washington Post reports, this happened on Sunday at a switching conference of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
According to participants, the head of the Russian delegation, Oleg Anisimov, said: “Let me apologize on behalf of all Russians who could not prevent this conflict.”
The climate scientist added at the 195-nation conference that all Russians who know what is happening can find no justification for this attack. Anisimov also said he admired the Ukrainian delegation for taking part in the climate negotiations despite the war in their country.
“I do not believe in a result of this meeting”
No conditions had been set by Kyiv for the talks, the Ukrainian Presidential Office had announced.
A mother with her child in a Kyiv suburb attacked by Russian troops
Credit: AFP/DANIEL LEAL
Ukrainian President Selenskyj was skeptical: “I don’t believe in the result of this meeting, but let’s try it.” location in the country. “We talked about concrete decisions to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capacities, about macro-financial aid and Ukraine’s membership in the EU,” Zelenskyy tweeted on Monday night.
Von der Leyen spoke out in favor of Ukraine joining the EU on Sunday. When asked by a Euronews reporter about the country’s inclusion in the community, she said: “In time, they actually belong to us. You are one of us and we want you in.” Selenskyj had previously pushed for the decision.
Also on Monday night, Selenskyj said he also called British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Polish President Andrzej Duda about the current security situation in Ukraine.
Johnson calls Putin’s threats a ‘distraction’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sees the indirect Russian threat of nuclear weapons as a distraction from the difficulties the Russian military is facing in invading Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s troops are encountering more resistance than the Russian President expected, Johnson said in London on Sunday evening, adding: “This is a disastrous, failed enterprise.”
Regarding talks between Moscow and Kyiv, Johnson expressed doubts about Putin’s sincerity. There is nothing in his behavior that gives reason to believe in a serious willingness to talk, Johnson said.
Biden plans switching conference with allies
US President Joe Biden will consult with allies and partners this Monday. A switching conference is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. (CET), according to the White House schedule.
It is about “discussing the latest developments regarding the Russian attack on Ukraine and coordinating our joint response,” as the appointment went on to say. No further information about the participants was given in the announcement.
Monday will be in new York also the assembly the U.N. debate the Russian attack. European states, together with Kyiv, have prepared a resolution strongly condemning Russia’s invasion. Russia cannot use its veto right in this forum as it can in the Security Council, but General Assembly resolutions are not binding.
meanwhile wants France at another Emergency session of the UN Security Council campaigning for a ceasefire and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid to war zones on Monday.
Lavrov cannot travel to Geneva
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will probably not be able to travel to the meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva because of the blocking of EU airspace for Russian aircraft. The United Nations Secretariat cannot guarantee the participation of the Russian delegation, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday evening on Russian state television, according to the agencies TASS and Interfax.
The UN Human Rights Council meets in Geneva on Monday for its regular spring session. Lavrov was originally on the list of speakers for Tuesday. In the UN Human Rights Council, 47 countries, each elected for three years by the UN General Assembly, deal with the human rights situation around the world. Currently, these include Russia and the other four permanent members of the Security Council, as well as Ukraine and Germany.
Speculation: Belarus could join the war on Monday
Meanwhile, there is speculation that Belarus could officially join the Russian-Ukraine war with soldiers on Monday morning. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko’s decision to send troops to the neighboring country depends on the outcome of talks between Russia and Ukraine, a senior US intelligence official said.
Belarusian paratroopers are said to have been ordered to fly to Ukraine at 5 a.m., writes the Ukrainian agency Unian.
She relies on information from Andrei Strischak from the non-governmental organization Bysol (Belarus Solidarity Foundation), which works for those affected by political repression in Belarus. This information could not be independently verified.
According to Ukrainian President Selenskyj, Lukashenko had assured on Sunday that he did not want to intervene in the war.