Ukrainian politician has 'little hope' for peace negotiations with Russia
Oleksandr Danylyuk discusses the increase of attacks against Ukraine's capital Kyiv on 'The Story.'
Ukrainian and Russian officials will meet on Monday in Istanbul, Turkey, for the next round of in-person peace talks, a Ukrainian negotiator said Sunday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday to discuss the negotiations.
"Stressing the need for the immediate establishment of ceasefire and peace between Russia and Ukraine as well as the amelioration of the humanitarian situation in the region, President [Erdoğan] said that [Turkey] would continue to lend every kind of support regarding the process," Turkish Presidency's communications office said Sunday.
Putin, in the wake of Biden's comments, says Russia knows "how to defend our own interests." (Reuters)
Chief Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia confirmed that the peace talks will be held March 28-30. A Russian negotiator said they would start on Tuesday.
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Previous in-person talks in Belarus did not yield any major breakthroughs.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that Russia would stop the war "in a moment" if Ukraine vows to never join NATO, recognizes Crimea as Russian territory, and recognizes the independence of the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook Tuesday, March 15, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Ukraine, meanwhile, is demanding an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that his country may agree not to join NATO in exchange for other security guarantees.
"It’s a compromise for everyone: for the West, which doesn’t know what to do with us with regard to NATO, for Ukraine, which wants security guarantees, and for Russia, which doesn’t want further NATO expansion," Zelenskyy said Monday.
President Biden said Saturday that the Kremlin dismissed attempts by the West at averting a war in the months before Russia invaded.
U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One to fly to Warsaw, at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, in Jasionka, near Rzeszow, Poland, March 25, 2022. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
"Putin and Russia met each of the proposals with disinterest in any negotiation, with lies and ultimatums. Russia was bent on violence from the start," Biden said in Poland on Saturday.
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As negotiations restart next week, Russian forces continue shelling Ukrainian cities. The United Nations said Sunday that 1,119 civilians have been killed and 3.8 million people have fled Ukraine.
Reuters contributed to this report.