Ukraine, Russia hold talks on Belarus border

The first round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials was held on the Belarusian border to end hostilities between the two countries.

Iran PressEurope: 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.

The office of the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv’s delegation includes the Minister of Defense, Alexey Reznikov, the head of the ruling Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, and the deputy Foreign Minister Nikolay Tochitskiy, as well as others.

According to the statement, Kyiv’s main goal in the crunch talks with Moscow is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow did not announce its position ahead of the talks with Kyiv’s representatives because the discussions “should go on in silence.”

He also expressed regret that the high-stakes negotiations did not start a day earlier, insisting that there was an opportunity. 

The Ukrainian side agreed to hold talks with their Russian colleagues on Sunday after initially refusing to send a team of representatives over disagreements on location and preliminary terms. Kyiv argued that it was inappropriate to hold crisis discussions in Belarus, claiming that Moscow’s armed forces were using the territory to carry out attacks. Minsk, however, has insisted that its troops are not facilitating in the military operation.

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Russia: Ukraine agrees to hold talks in Belarus