Negotiators from Ukraine and Russia convened for a third round of talks on Monday, with the Ukrainian delegation saying there was possible progress in securing humanitarian corridors.
Although no comprehensive agreement has been reached, Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Mikhail Pontoliak, said on Twitter after the talks that “there have been some small positive changes regarding the humanitarian corridor.”
Podolyak did not elaborate, but Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said he expected the humanitarian corridors to open on Tuesday.
On the possibility of a political settlement to ensure a ceasefire, Medinsky said Russia’s expectations from the talks had failed. He added that he expects more talks.
“We hope to be able to take a more important step forward next time,” he told Russian media.
Both the Russian and Ukrainian delegations arrived at the meeting point on Monday near the border with Poland, in the same area as the previous round of talks.
Previous meetings have failed to end the conflict, with each side blaming the other for failing to reach an agreement. Russia has blamed Kyiv for previous failures to enforce a ceasefire.
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 to evacuate civilians to besieged cities.
However, both Saturday and Sunday efforts to maintain the ceasefire in many cities lasted only hours and left thousands more trapped without access to food, water or electricity.
Ukraine rejected a third attempt Monday, ahead of talks, as Moscow offered safe passage through several cities leading civilians to Russia.
The first round of talks took place inside Ukraine, near the border with Belarus. Ukrainian negotiators have rejected Moscow’s offer to meet in Belarus, a close Russian ally that has allowed Russian troops to use their territory as a launching pad for an invasion of Ukraine. Subsequent negotiations took place in Belarus, near the Polish border.
What are Russia’s demands?
During the talks, Kyiv expressed its willingness to accept one of Moscow’s demands, namely to guarantee its status as a neutral country and to 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 the cessation of Ukraine’s military action, the change of its constitution to ensure neutrality, the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk autonomous republics as independent territories, said Petrov. at the Reuters news agency.
Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, triggering the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
wmr, ab / msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
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