Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Wednesday, March 30, that his country was ready to become the “guarantor state” of a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
At a press conference in Berlin, Hebestreit reported that Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the issue in their recent phone calls.
“Germany, like several other countries, is ready to act as a guarantor of Ukraine’s security,” Hebestreit said, noting that the matter could be the subject of further deliberations as many details are still unclear.
At the peace talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, the Ukrainian delegation agreed to negotiate a “neutral state” but demanded security guarantees for their country.
See also: At least 145 children have died since the start of the war in Ukraine
Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia told reporters they are aiming for an international agreement in which countries such as Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland and Israel will act as guarantor states.
Since February 24, Ukraine has recorded 2,975 civilian deaths, including 1,151 dead, including 54 children, and 1,824 injured, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) update.
The number of people fleeing Ukraine due to the war with Russia has reached four million, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Wednesday, March 30.
“The number of refugees from Ukraine is now four million, five weeks after the start of the Russian attack,” the UN refugee agency chief tweeted.
“I just arrived in Ukraine. In Lviv, I will discuss with the authorities, the UN and other partners ways we can increase our support for those affected and displaced by this senseless war,” the official added.
The UN agency said more than half of the refugees, some 2.3 million Ukrainians, went to neighboring Poland, more than 595,000 to Romania, nearly 384,000 to Moldova, more than 354,000 to Hungary and about 275,000 to Slovakia.
*Translated by Daniel Gallego.
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