Russia and Ukraine say there could be ‘a positive result’ to peace talks within DAYS: Ukraine says Russia is ‘beginning to talk constructively’ with more discussions set for tomorrow
- Russia and Ukraine claim there could be ‘a positive result’ to peace talks in days
- Ukraine said Russia
Russian and Ukrainian officials gave their most upbeat assessments yet on Sunday of progress in their talks on the war in Ukraine, suggesting there could be positive results within days.
Separately, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Russia was showing signs of willingness to engage in substantive negotiations about ending a conflict in which thousands have died. More than 2.5 million people have fled.
Ukraine has said it is willing to negotiate, but not to surrender or accept any ultimatums.
‘We will not concede in principle on any positions. Russia now understands this. Russia is already beginning to talk constructively,’ Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in a video posted online.
‘We will not concede in principle on any positions. Russia now understands this. Russia is already beginning to talk constructively,’ Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak (pictured) said in a video posted online
‘I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of days,’ he said.
RIA news agency quoted a Russian delegate, Leonid Slutsky, as saying the talks had made substantial progress.
‘According to my personal expectations, this progress may grow in the coming days into a joint position of both delegations, into documents for signing,’ Slutsky said.
Neither side indicated what the scope of any agreement might be.
Their public comments were issued almost at the same time. They came on day 18 of the war which began when Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what the Kremlin terms a special military operation.
In a tweet, Podolyak said Russia was carefully listening to Ukraine’s proposals. ‘Our demands are – the end of the war and the withdrawal of [Russian] troops. I see the understanding and there is a dialogue,’ he said.
RIA news agency quoted a Russian delegate, Leonid Slutsky (pictured), as saying the talks had made substantial progress. ‘According to my personal expectations, this progress may grow in the coming days into a joint position of both delegations, into documents for signing,’ Slutsky said
Last Monday, the Kremlin’s chief spokesman said Russia was ready to halt military operations ‘in a moment’ if Kyiv met a list of conditions.
Among the demands were for Ukraine to acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory, and recognise the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told ABC last week that ‘we can discuss and find a compromise on how these territories will live on’ while adding ‘we’re not ready for capitulation’.
Three rounds of talks between the two sides in Belarus, most recently last Monday, had focused mainly on humanitarian issues and led to the limited opening of some corridors for civilians to escape fighting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday there had been some ‘positive shifts’ in the talks, but did not elaborate. On Saturday the Kremlin said the discussions between Russian and Ukrainian officials had been continuing ‘in video format’.
Talks between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers produced no apparent progress towards a ceasefire last Thursday but analysts said the fact they were even meeting left a window open for ending the war.
There has also been disagreement between the two sides as to whether talks were ongoing on Sunday.
The Kremlin said next Russia-Ukraine talks to take place Monday but are not happening right now.
However, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Ukraine and Russia were actively conducting talks on Sunday, with the situation around the besieged city of Mariupol a particular focus for the Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine has said it is willing to negotiate, but not to surrender or accept any ultimatums. Pictured: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
‘Talks are continuing right now,’ he said in an interview on national television.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday that Britain would continue to pursue more options for bolstering Ukraine’s self-defence.
Mr Johnson said Russian president Vladimir Putin’s ‘barbaric actions’ were ‘testing not just Ukraine but all of humanity’.
The Prime Minister spoke to the Ukrainian president on Sunday afternoon, according to No 10.
‘He commended the president and the Ukrainian people on their fortitude. The Prime Minister said Putin’s barbaric actions were testing not just Ukraine but all of humanity,’ a Downing Street spokesman said.
‘The leaders condemned the murders of Brent Renaud and countless innocent Ukrainians, and the abduction of the mayors of Dniprorudne and Melitopol.
‘The Prime Minister outlined the support the UK continues to deliver to Ukraine. He said the UK would continue to pursue more options for bolstering Ukraine’s self-defence, working with partners including at Tuesday’s meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force in London.
‘The Prime Minister said the UK would continue to stand behind Ukraine in all their efforts to bring an end to this disastrous conflict.’
President Zelensky said he spoke to Boris Johnson and Petr Fiala, the prime minister of the Czech Republic.
He tweeted: ‘Held talks with PM Boris Johnson and PM P-Fiala.
‘Talked about people’s struggle against Russian aggression, about Russia’s criminal attacks on civilians.
‘Thanked the partners for their important support. We appreciate it. Stop Russia’.
It came as Zelensky visited wounded soldiers at a military hospital in Kiev on Sunday to boost their morale and award them medals for their bravery.
‘Guys, get well soon. I believe that the best gift for your statement will be our common victory!’ said Zelensky, according to an English translation of a tweet posted by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
He awarded 106 servicemen of the armed forces in Ukraine the title of ‘Heroes of Ukraine’, 17 of which were awarded posthumously.
Among them was Senior Lieutenant Hutsul Volodymyr Olesksandrovych, who received the title for his actions in the Kherson region destroying 25 units of enemy equipment and ‘about 300 invaders’.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky visits an injured Ukrainian serviceman in a military hospital in Kiev on Sunday
Zelensky takes a photo with the injured soldier at the military hospital in Kiev on Sunday as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues
Before visiting the military hospital, Zelensky warned against the formation of a ‘pseudo-republic’ in the south of his country
Kiev is becoming surrounded by Russian forces as analysts warn the worst days of the war in Ukraine could lie ahead
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) listens to a chief of Medical Forces Command Brigadier General Tetiana Ostashchenko (centre)
In a speech on Sunday, Zelensky warned against the formation of a ‘pseudo-republic’ in the south of his country.
Zelensky said Russians were using blackmail and bribery in an attempt to force local officials to form a break-away region in the south, much like those in Donetsk and Luhansk – which Putin declared as ‘independent’ at the start of the war.
Protection for the two eastern regions where pro-Russian separatists began fighting Ukrainian forces in 2014 was used as a pretext by Russia to start the invasion.
Kherson, a vital Black Sea port of 290,000 residents, was the first major city to fall earlier this month.
‘Ukraine will stand this test. We need time and strength to break the war machine that has come to our land,’ Zelensky said in his address.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky address the nation on March 12 after Russian air strikes killed 35 people at a military base outside Ukraine’s western city of Lviv
President Volodymyr Zelensky listens to a chief of the National military medical clinical centre Major General Anatolii Kazmirchu
Ukrainian officials on Sunday also accused Russia of organizing a ‘fake referendum’ in the south of the country now partially under control by Russian forces.
‘Following 2014 playbook, Russians now desperately try to organize a sham ‘referendum’ for a fake ‘people’s republic’ in Kherson,’ said Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs.
‘Given zero popular support, it will be fully staged. Severe sanctions against Russia must follow if they proceed. Kherson is & will always be Ukraine.’
Russia bombarded cities across Ukraine on Saturday, pounding Mariupol in the south, shelling the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, and thwarting the efforts of people trying to flee the violence.
Moscow expanded its offensive on Sunday, as waves of Russian missiles pounded a military training base in western Ukraine, killing 35 people.
The International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, which lies not far from the border with NATO member Poland, served as a crucial hub for cooperation between Ukraine and the NATO countries supporting it in its defence against Moscow’s grinding assault.
More than 30 Russian cruise missiles targeted the sprawling facility, which has long been used to train Ukrainian military personnel, often with instructors from the U.S. and other countries in the western alliance.
Poland is also a transit route for Western military aid to Ukraine, and the strikes followed Moscow’s threats to target those shipments.
An attack so close to the border was heavy with symbolism in a conflict that has revived old Cold War rivalries that gave birth to NATO and threatened to rewrite the current global security order.
More to follow.
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