A second round of talks aimed at ending Russia’s attack on Ukraine is set to take place after the first meeting ended without resolution.
The first set of talks, which were held in Belarus on Monday afternoon, ended with Kyiv slamming Russia’ destructive processes’.
A member of the Ukrainian delegation today said the discussions, which took five hours, were difficult and the Russian side was biased.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter: ‘The Russian side, unfortunately, still has a very biased view of the destructive processes it has launched.’
Russian officials, meanwhile, said: ‘We have identified certain points from which we can predict general positions.’
Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky earlier admitted he was not confident of a positive resolution, adding that he owed it to his people to at least try and engage.
A new round of talks is now set to take place in the coming days, according to an aide to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Medinsky said: ‘Another round of talks was agreed to.
‘Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, gave few details except to say that the talks, held near the Ukraine-Belarus border, were focused on a possible cease-fire and that a second round could take place ‘in the near future.’
‘The next meeting will take place in the coming days on the Polish-Belarusian border, there is an agreement to that effect,’ Medinsky said.
Ukrainian and Russian officials today met for peace talks in Belarus as observers warned the talks could be a pretext for Moscow to ramp up its attack if Kyiv’s officials refuse Russian demands
Zelensky been reticent to agree to talks in Belarus, a country used as a staging ground for the Russian invasion and which is now poised to join the war, offering instead to meet in Istanbul, Warsaw or Baku.
Ukraine had indicated it would request a ceasefire and full withdrawal of Russian forces but Moscow remained tight lipped over what the negotiations, held at noon in Gomel in southeastern Belarus, would entail.
It comes as columns of Belarusian military vehicles were spotted today heading east from the south western corner of the country in what appeared to be preparations to join the invasion of Ukraine.
Some observers warned the talks could be a pretext for Moscow to ramp up its attacks on Ukraine if Kyiv’s officials refuse Russian demands.
Columns of Belarusian military vehicles were spotted today heading east from the south western corner of the country in what appeared to be preparations to join the invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky admitted he was not confident of a positive resolution, adding that he owed it to his people to at least try and engage
Among those present at the talks were the Ukrainian defence minister, a lead advisor to the President’s office and the deputy minister of foreign affairs.
But while Ukraine sent its defence minister and other top officials, the Russian delegation was led by Putin’s adviser on culture – an unlikely envoy for ending the war and perhaps a sign of how Moscow views the talks.
Meanwhile ahead of peace talks today Russian military officials ordered heavy strategic bomber flights as part of what appears to be efforts to prevent international aid from reaching Ukraine.
Observers have warned the order suggests Vladimir Putin’s forces are preparing to ramp up the bombardment of Ukraine in the coming days.
Richard Nass, president of the Council of Foreign Affairs, warned recent developments mean the most likely development of the conflict is ‘conventional’ military escalation by Russia, rather than a diplomatic breakthrough.
Nass, writing on Twitter, speculated that Moscow was using negotiations to ‘appear somewhat reasonable’ to slow sanctions against Russia as well as help to Ukraine.
But he warned the Kremlin’s forces were likely to turn to ‘more destructive munitions’ if peace talks collapse, using the failure to negotiate a diplomatic breakthrough as a pretext.
Delegations from Ukraine and Russia, including aides to both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, hold peace talks in Belarus’ Gomel region
The Ukrainian delegation leaves a Belarusian military helicopter after landing in Gomel region ahead of peace talks with Russian officials on Monday
The Russian delegation gets off a bus in the Gomel region of Belarus ahead of peace negotiations with Ukraine on Monday
Ukraine war, day 5: Russian forces are now attempting to skirt around Kyiv and encircle it from the west. Troops fighting out of Crimea continue to make gains and are likely to surround Mariupol soon, while also reaching the outskirts of a key Ukrainian nuclear plant. Fighting in the east continues to be heavy with no breakthrough for Putin
Kyiv has been holding out for days against Russian attempts to breach the outskirts of the city, with tanks now trying to encircle it and a large column of armour approaching amid fears the fighting could get much worse
As outgunned but determined Ukrainian forces slowed the Russian advance and sanctions crippled the Russian economy, the military confirmed that its nuclear forces were on high alert, following President Vladimir Putin’s order.
While that raised the unimaginable specter of nuclear conflict, it was unclear what practical effect it had.
A tense calm reigned in Kyiv by Monday morning, explosions and gunfire were heard in embattled cities in eastern Ukraine, and terrified Ukrainian families huddled overnight in shelters, basements or corridors.
