New round of Ukrainian-Russian talks in few days

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The five-hour negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine in the Gomel region in Belarus have ended, and both sides identified some priority topics, an advisor to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Mikhail Podolyak, confirmed on Monday.

"The parties have identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions have been outlined. In order to give the opportunity to implement these decisions ... the delegates are departing to their capitals for consultations," Podolyak told reporters.

The Russian and Ukrainian delegations discussed the possibility of holding a second round of negotiations as soon as possible, he added.

Several points forecasting common positions

For his part, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, pointed out that the delegations agreed to hold a new round of talks on the Belarusian-Polish border in the next few days.

Medinsky told reporters that "the most important thing is that [we] have agreed to continue the negotiation process, and the next meeting will take place in the next few days on the Polish-Belarusian border. There is such an agreement."

Before the next talks, each delegation will discuss the negotiating positions with the leadership of their country, the Russian negotiator said.

"[We] found several points on which you can forecast common positions," he added.

Zelensky skeptical about negotiations outcome

The Russian-Ukrainian negotiations began in Belarus on Monday, after the Ukrainian delegation arrived Sunday in Gomel, Belarus.

Kiev agreed on Sunday to start peace talks with Russia, despite the continuation of battles in many major Ukrainian cities and Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to put the country's deterrence forces on high alert.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had pointed out that he does not really "believe in the outcome" of the negotiations in Belarus.

Last Thursday, Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine in response to requests from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for assistance in combating Ukrainian troops' aggression.

The special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military facilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, and the civilian population is not at risk.