Status: 02/28/2022 11:02 a.m
Talks between Ukraine and Russia on a possible peace settlement have begun. Ukraine calls for an “immediate ceasefire” and the withdrawal of troops. Russia wants a quick agreement.
A Ukrainian delegation has arrived at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border for talks with Russian representatives. Ukraine is calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and the withdrawal of Russian troops, the Ukrainian Presidential Office said.
According to the Kremlin, Russia is hoping for a quick agreement in the talks with Ukraine. “We are definitely interested in reaching an agreement as soon as possible,” Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told Russian television. But this must be “in the interests of both sides”.
The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. He will be accompanied, among others, by Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak.
The talks are taking place in the Belarusian border region of Gomel, near Ukraine’s destroyed Chernobyl nuclear facility.
Selenskyj: Little hope for a result
Ukraine had initially rejected peace talks in Russia’s partner country Belarus. The country is taking part in hostilities against Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. He is open to all places “from where no rockets are fired at Ukraine”.
The President later accepted the Russian offer. “I don’t believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let’s try,” said Zelenskyy. He is trying to stop the war as long as there is a minimal chance. Not a single Ukrainian should doubt that, Zelensky said.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko admitted on Sunday that Russian troops had attacked Ukraine from his country. Two rockets were fired “because Kyiv has stationed three to four rocket divisions on the border” with Belarus, Lukashenko said in Minsk, according to state media.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.