New Delhi: Talks between Ukraine and Russia will be held around noon Moscow time on the Belarus border, Russian news agency quoted a presidential aide.
The Russian side was reportedly waiting for their Ukrainian counterparts at the venue in Belarus, near the Pripyat River on the border.
Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Kremlin delegation, said negotiations would begin “immediately after their arrival”.
Medinsky has also been quoted as saying that the arrival time of the Ukrainians had been postponed several times.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of all safety guarantees, Ukraine said Sunday.
Zelensky’s office said, according to CNN, that Lukashenko had “taken responsibility for ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on the Belarusian territory will remain on the ground during the Ukrainian delegation’s travel, meeting and return.”
Meanwhile, The Washington Post has quoted a US administration official saying Belarus was preparing to participate directly in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Belarus on Sunday also ditched its non-nuclear status – a decision backed by a referendum, according to Lukashenko – though the West has denounced this referendum as “neither a viable – nor credible – path forward for Belarus”.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told MSNBC Sunday that the US and its allies “reserve the right to further sanction Belarus”.
As “diplomatic manoeuvring continued”, blasts were heard in capital Kyiv and in the major city of Kharkiv, Reuters quoted Ukrainian authorities. The report said Russian forces met stiff resistance in Kyiv.
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Source: The Print
