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The Kremlin has said peace talks between Russia and Ukraine may get underway in Turkey on Tuesday and it is important that they would take place face-to-face, after what it described as a lack of major progress in negotiations so far.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a telephone call on Sunday for Istanbul to host the talks, which Ankara hopes will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Turkey said the talks could begin as early as Monday, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that was unlikely as the negotiators would only be arriving in Turkey on Monday.
“While we cannot and will not speak about progress at the talks, the fact that they continuing to take place in person is important, of course,” Mr Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
“We are adhering to a policy of not disclosing any information about the talks, which we think could only hurt the negotiation process.” Mr Peskov added that no major progress had been made in the talks themselves, or on the idea of a potential meeting between Mr Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Unfortunately we cannot see any substantial achievements or breakthroughs so far,” he said.
In separate comments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a meeting between the two leaders would be counterproductive if it were held now. He said they should meet once the sides achieve progress. “A meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy is needed as soon as we will be close to resolving all key issues,” Mr Lavrov said in an interview with Serbian media.
‘Without delay’
Mr Zelenskiy hailed the forthcoming new negotiations, saying he hoped they would bring peace “without delay”, with Mr Zelenskiy desperate to halt the bombardment of cities such as Mariupol, where officials said the situation is “catastrophic”.
“Our goal is obvious – peace and the restoration of normal life in our native state as soon as possible,” Mr Zelensky said in a late-night video message that also set out his negotiating red lines. “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are beyond doubt. Effective security guarantees for our state are mandatory,” he said.
The efforts at peace came as US president Joe Biden tried to limit the fallout from his controversial statement at the weekend that Russian president Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”.
When asked on Sunday if he wanted to see Mr Putin removed from office in Russia he said simply “no”. Mr Biden’s original comments were swiftly walked back by both the White House and the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who insisted the US did not have “a strategy of regime change in Russia – or anywhere else”.
The UK, Germany and France also distanced themselves from Mr Biden’s apparently unplanned remark. French president Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that he would not have used Mr Biden’s words, adding that he saw his task as “achieving first a ceasefire and then the total withdrawal of [RUSSIAN]troops by diplomatic means”. He told broadcaster France 3: “If we want to do that, we can’t escalate in either words or actions.” In his video address.
Significant losses
Mr Zelenskiy lamented a month-long Russian invasion that has killed thousands and devastated numerous cities, amid questions as to whether a near-stalemate in fighting has forced Moscow to temper its demands.
The Ukrainian military claimed in its latest operational report that Russia had withdrawn troops that were surrounding Kyiv after suffering significant losses.
Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defence said Moscow was “effectively isolating Ukraine from international maritime trade” with its blockade in the Black Sea and continuing to conduct sporadic missile strikes against targets across Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskiy used a video interview with independent Russian media outlets to signal his willingness to discuss the idea of Ukraine adopting a “neutral status”, and also make compromises about the status of the eastern Donbas region, in order to secure a peace agreement with Russia. But he said he was not willing to discuss demilitarisation, and that Ukrainians would need to vote in a referendum to approve their country adopting a neutral status.
Concerns remain about Russia’s sincerity in the talks, with Ukraine intelligence chief Gen Kyrylo Budanov suggesting Mr Putin is seeking to split Ukraine into two, emulating the postwar division between North and South Korea.
Mr Budanov said he believed Mr Putin had rethought his plan for full occupation since failing to swiftly take Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and overthrow Zelenskiy’s government, raising the prospect of a long conflict.
Civilians
About 170,000 civilians remain trapped in Mariupol without adequate food, water or medicine, as the southern port city is being turned “into dust” by Russian shelling, according to Ukraine’s foreign ministry.
Mr Zelenskiy claimed that 2,000 children from Mariupol have been taken by Russia, according to a press release published by the president’s office late on Sunday. “According to our data, more than 2,000 children were deported. Which means they were abducted. Because we do not know the exact locations of all these children. There were children with and without parents. It’s a catastrophe, it’s horrible.”
Mr Zelenskiy said the city remained blocked by the Russian military, describing the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe. “Food, medicine, and water can’t be delivered. The Russian troops are shelling humanitarian convoys and killing drivers.” France, Greece and Turkey are hoping to launch a “humanitarian operation” to evacuate civilians within days, according to Mr Macron, who has sought approval from Mr Putin.
The UN estimates that at least 1,100 civilians have died and more than 10 million have been displaced in a devastating war that has gone on far longer than Moscow expected.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, accused Russia of “irresponsible” acts around the occupied Chernobyl power station that could send radiation across much of Europe, and urged the United Nations to dispatch a mission to assess the risks in an update to her Telegram account.
Hollywood A-listers noted the toll on civilians with a moment of silence at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles, urging support for “the people of Ukraine currently facing invasion, conflict and prejudice within their own borders”. – Guardian and Reuters