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regular-article-logo Monday, 23 December 2024

Ukraine and Russia set for third round of peace talks

Previous negotiations agreed on humanitarian corridors to allow for the evacuation of civilians, but plans have so far collapsed

Deutsche Welle Published 07.03.22, 07:01 PM
The third round of peace talks, like the second round, is taking place in western Belarus despite previous objections from Ukraine over Belarusian involvement in the invasion

The third round of peace talks, like the second round, is taking place in western Belarus despite previous objections from Ukraine over Belarusian involvement in the invasion Deutsche Welle

Negotiators are to sit down later on Monday as fighting continues. Previous talks agreed on humanitarian corridors to allow for the evacuation of civilians, but plans have so far collapsed.

The third round of peace talks between negotiators from Ukraine and Russia will start at 14:00 UTC (19:30 IST) on Monday, a member of the Ukrainian delegation said.

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"Third round. Start at 1600 Kyiv time. Delegation unchanged," Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

Russian news agency RIA reported earlier that Moscow's delegation had arrived in Belarus for the new talks.

The previous meetings have failed to end the conflict with each side blaming the other for the failure to find a suitable agreement.

What happened in previous Ukraine-Russia talks?

The second round of talks, which took place last Thursday, ended with the two sides agreeing to set up humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians in cities under siege.

But attempts on both Saturday and Sunday to maintain a cease-fire in several cities lasted only hours and left thousands still trapped without access to food, water or electricity.

Ukraine rejected a third attempt on Monday, ahead of the talks, after Moscow offered safe passage from several cities that would take the civilians into Russia.

The first round of peace talks took place inside Ukraine, close to the border with Belarus after the Ukrainians rejected Moscow's proposal to meet in Belarus, a close Russian ally that allowed Russian troops to use its territory as a launchpad for invading Ukraine.

Over the course of the discussions, Kyiv has expressed a willingness to accept one of Moscow's demands, namely to guarantee its status as a neutral country and rule out the option of joining NATO.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to continue the conflict until all his demands are met.

These include Ukraine ceasing military action, changing its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledging Crimea as Russian territory and recognizing the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 24, causing the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

(Reuters, AFP)

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