Kiev needs to agree on presidential meeting: Zelensky
3 Min Read
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky affirms that “our delegation has a clear-cut task to do everything possible to organize the presidential meeting.”
-
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, on Monday, that the representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations must agree on a meeting between the two countries' presidents during their oncoming talks.
"Representatives of our countries’ delegations negotiate daily in an online format," President Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president added that "our delegation has a clear-cut task to do everything possible to organize the presidential meeting, which, I am sure, is anticipated by everyone. They must understand that it is a complicated story, as well as a tough, but extremely needed path."
"Our aim is that in the course of this fight and this difficult negotiating process Ukraine gets the necessary result, which is necessary for all of us, for peace and security, for us to have normal and effective guarantees," he added.
On his account, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamiya, told the Strana news website earlier in the day that another round of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will begin on Monday morning in an online format.
"[March 14] talks will be held via video link-up beginning at 10:30," he said, but he did not specify the time zone.
Russia puts dialogue and cooperation first
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS last week that another round of talks between Moscow and Kiev would take place online on Monday. Peskov also stated that, as in previous rounds of talks, Russia's delegation would be led by Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky.
On February 28, the first round of Russian-Ukrainian talks took place in Belarus' Gomel region. The discussions lasted five hours.
The second round of talks took place on March 3 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus. The talks resulted in an agreement to open humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to be evacuated.
On March 7, the delegations met for the third round of talks in the Brest region of Belarus. On the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitry Kuleba, on March 10.
It is worth mentioning that dialogue between Kiev and Moscow has so far provided several local ceasefires and humanitarian corridors to evacuate residents. Moreover, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations have discussed political, humanitarian, and military issues during the talks.
