Ukraine Will Insist On Negotiations With Russia On The Meeting Of Presidents

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calls on Russians to organize protests against Russian troops’ takeover of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, during an address from Kyiv, Ukraine, March 4, 2022 in this still from a video. Provided by the press service of the President of Ukraine/Handout material via REUTERS

March 13 – Ukrainian officials negotiating with their Russian counterparts should ensure direct talks between leaders that could lead to peace, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Sunday.

The next round of talks on the war in Ukraine between the two neighbors is scheduled for Monday morning via video link. While officials have been optimistic lately, the positive outcome of the talks is yet to come. More

Ukraine has repeatedly called for direct talks between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, indicating that the Russian leader makes all the final decisions.

“Our delegation has a clear task – to do everything to ensure the meeting of the presidents. The meeting that I am sure people are waiting for,” Zelensky said in his daily video message.

“Obviously, this is not an easy story. A hard road. But this path is needed. And our goal is for Ukraine to get the desired result in this struggle, in this negotiation work. Necessary for peace. And for security.”

Russia has previously said that the Kremlin would not refuse such a meeting to discuss “specific” issues, but no details were given. More

On Sunday, a flurry of Russian missiles hit a major Ukrainian base near the border with NATO member Poland, killing 35 people and injuring 134, in an escalation of war in the country’s west as fighting rages elsewhere.

Earlier, Ukraine stated that it was ready to negotiate with Russia, but not to give up in the conflict. Thousands have died and more than 2.5 million have fled since the start of the war.

Three rounds of talks between the two sides in Belarus, the last of which took place last Monday, focused mainly on humanitarian issues and resulted in the limited opening of some corridors for civilians fleeing the fighting.

Putin said on Friday that there had been some “positive developments” in the talks, but did not elaborate.

Talks between Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers last Thursday made no clear progress towards a ceasefire, but analysts say the fact they even met left a window open for ending the war. More

Reporting by Maria Starkova in Lvov, Sergey Karazi in Kyiv and Lydia Kelly in Melbourne; Writing by Lydia Kelly; editing Diane Kraft

Our Standards: Trust Principles.