Ukraine and Russia start third round of peace talks

Negotiators from Ukraine and Russia convened for a third round of peace talk on Monday, both sides said.

The talks were pushed back by two hours from their original planned start. “Third round. Start at 1600 Kyiv time. Delegation unchanged,” Ukraine’s lead negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

Both Russian and Ukrainian delegations arrived on Monday at the meeting place close to the border with Poland, the same place where the previous round of talks occurred.

The previous meetings have failed to end the conflict with each side blaming the other for the failure to find a suitable agreement.

Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that the talks would focus on humanitarian corridors while at the same time blaming Kyiv for their previous failures.

What happened in previous Ukraine-Russia talks?

The second round of talks, which took place last Thursday, ended with the two sides agreeing to set up humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians in cities under siege.

But attempts on both Saturday and Sunday to maintain a cease-fire in several cities lasted only hours and left thousands still trapped without access to food, water or electricity.

• Mariupol and Volnovakha: Besieged cities appeal for help

  Escape from Mariupol

  Residents in the besieged port city of Mariupol say they are running out of water and have no more electricity or gas. City officials were forced to postpone the planned evacuation of civilians along a humanitarian corridor after Russia violated the agreed upon cease-fire on Saturday.

• Mariupol and Volnovakha: Besieged cities appeal for help

  Desperate for food and medial aid

  “We are simply being destroyed,” said Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko in a televised broadcast ahead of the planned cease-fire. After five days of bombardment from Russian troops, city officials had hoped to evacuate some of the 400,000 residents and create a safe corridor to bring in much-needed food and medicine.

• Mariupol and Volnovakha: Besieged cities appeal for help

  Volnovakha: Cut off from the outside world

  The town of Volnovakha, which has around 20,000 inhabitants, was badly hit by Russian forces. Located some 60 kilometers (37 miles) inland from Mariupol, the town has been under attack from the advancing Russian army and pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk. (Editor’s note: This picture was made available by the Russian state agency TASS via German press agency dpa.)

• Mariupol and Volnovakha: Besieged cities appeal for help

  No reprieve from airstrikes

  Early Saturday morning, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced a temporary cease-fire to allow civilians from both cities to escape along humanitarian corridors. But authorities from Mariupol said Russian troops were not respecting the cease-fire and called off the evacuation.

• Mariupol and Volnovakha: Besieged cities appeal for help

  Air raid shelter in a sports center

  The heavy onslaught of Russian bombs has driven the residents of Mariupol to flee their homes and seek shelter in improvised bunkers. The strategically important port city has managed to hold off the Russian army, but its population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

• Mariupol and Volnovakha: Besieged cities appeal for help

  Mariupol accuses Russia of attacking hospitals

  The city’s critical infrastructure has been heavily hit. Sergei Orlov, the deputy mayor of Mariupol, has accused Russian forces of attacking schools and hospitals.

• Mariupol and Volnovakha: Besieged cities appeal for help

  On the front line

  Mariupol is located near the former border between pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk and the Ukrainian army. Taking the port city would allow Russian troops to join forces with units from Crimea and Donbas.

  Author: Diana Hodali

Ukraine rejected a third attempt on Monday, ahead of the talks, after Moscow offered safe passage from several cities that would take the civilians into Russia.

The first round of peace talks took place inside Ukraine, close to the border with Belarus after the Ukrainians rejected Moscow’s proposal to meet in Belarus, a close Russian ally that allowed Russian troops to use its territory as a launchpad for invading Ukraine. Subsequent negotiations have taken place in Belarus, close to the Polish border. 

What are Russia’s demands?

Over the course of the discussions, Kyiv has expressed a willingness to accept one of Moscow’s demands, namely to guarantee its status as a neutral country and rule out the option of joining NATO.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to continue the conflict until all his demands are met.

These include Ukraine ceasing military action, changing its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledging Crimea as Russian territory and recognizing the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent territories, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, causing the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

ab/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-and-russia-start-third-round-of-peace-talks/a-61039008?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf