RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow still expects to reach a peaceful conclusion with Ukraine despite the ongoing violence.
Putin emphasized that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made a “significant advance” in their negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey, last month, during a Kremlin meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
He stated, however, that the Ukrainian side later reneged on some of the Istanbul tentative agreements.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Tuesday that Russia’s seizure of the Chernobyl nuclear power facility in the first phase of its invasion of Ukraine had brought the globe to the “edge of calamity.”
During a press conference with UN atomic inspector chief Rafael Grossi, Zelensky warned the world was “once again on the verge of tragedy” because Russia regarded the Chernobyl zone “like a normal battleground, land where they didn’t even try to worry about nuclear safety.”
Putin claimed that Ukrainian negotiators had altered their minds about the status of Crimea and rebel territory in eastern Ukraine, promising to address it with the presidents of the two countries. Putin claimed that the shift in Ukraine’s stance makes it difficult to reach an agreement in the future.
As part of a prospective cease-fire agreement, Putin has demanded that Ukraine accept Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and the independence of rebel territories in eastern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine stated that only a future public vote could resolve these issues.
Guterres denounced Russia’s military operation in Ukraine during a meeting with the Kremlin on Tuesday, calling it a gross breach of its neighbor’s territorial integrity. He also asked Russia to let residents trapped in a massive steel mill in Mariupol, which Russian soldiers surround, be evacuated.
Putin retaliated by stating that Russian forces had given humanitarian corridors to civilians trapped at the Azovstal steel complex, accusing Ukrainian plant defenders of using civilians as shields and refusing to let them leave.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated on Tuesday that Russia’s seizure of the Chernobyl nuclear power facility in the early stages of its invasion of Ukraine had pushed the globe to the “edge of calamity.”
During a press conference with UN atomic inspector chief Rafael Grossi, Zelensky warned the world was “once again on the verge of tragedy” because Russia regarded the Chernobyl zone “like a normal battleground, land where they didn’t even try to worry about nuclear safety.”
During a press conference with UN atomic inspector chief Rafael Grossi, Zelensky warned the world was “once again on the verge of tragedy” because Russia regarded the Chernobyl zone “like a normal battleground, land where they didn’t even try to worry about nuclear safety.”
Putin and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met in Moscow to assess the situation at the massive Azovstal steel mill, where the remaining Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol are holed up after months of Russian shelling and siege.
“Following up discussions will be held with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Defense Ministry,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement following the meeting.
Putin had earlier assured Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that no military actions were taking place in Mariupol and Kyiv should “take responsibility” for the people trapped at the Azovstal steel factory.
Ukraine requested that the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross assist in the evacuation of residents from Azovstal on Monday. On Thursday, Guterres is expected to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
During a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Guterres said he has proposed a “Humanitarian Contact Group” of Russia, Ukraine, and UN officials “to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors, with local cessations of hostilities, and to guarantee that they are effective.”
Also Read: PM Modi to CMs: The COVID-19 Challenge Is Not Over; Focus on Vaccinating Children
