Iran Press/ Europe: The Kremlin had said on Sunday its delegation was ready to meet Ukrainian officials in the Belarusian city of Gomel.
On Wednesday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced a special military operation against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he had no other choice than to launch the military operation to stop the Ukrainian military’s interference in two eastern republics that have broken away from Ukraine. Russia perceives NATO’s eastward expansion as a threat.
CNN reported that the Ukrainian delegation has agreed to meet with Russians at the Belarus border.
According to RT, Kyiv “confirmed” the planned talks in the Gomel Region, which is close to the borders of both Russia and Ukraine, Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told reporters.
Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin and former culture minister, added that the parties are now deciding on the logistics and the exact location of the summit, with “maximum security” for the Ukrainians.
“We guarantee that the travel route will be 100% safe. We will be waiting for the Ukrainian delegation,” the Russian chief negotiator said.
The Russian team arrived in Gomel on Sunday, where it said talks were planned with the Ukrainians. Kyiv later said it wanted to negotiate on “neutral ground,” arguing that Russian troops were using Belarusian territory to stage attacks on Ukraine. Minsk, however, denied that its forces were participating in the Russian operation.
The Russians initially said their team would stay in Belarus until 3 pm local time. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko over the phone, asking to move the deadline, according to Lukashenko’s spokeswoman, Natalia Eismont. She said the Belarusian leader then spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who agreed to move the planned negotiations to a later time.
Zelensky confirmed the call with Lukashenko on social media but has not commented on the talks.
Moscow attacked its neighbor this week, arguing that it was defending the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which broke off from the eastern part of Ukraine shortly after the 2014 coup in Kyiv. Ukraine said the move was an act of unprovoked aggression.
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