Officials from Russia and Ukraine met in the Gomel region of Belarus on Monday to talk about potentially ending the invasion of Russia into the Ukrainian-held territory.
QUICK FACTS:
- Russian and Ukrainian officials met for peace talks in Belarus Monday, according to Sputnik News.
- Officials were focused on halting the fighting between the two countries and found some common positions, according to Vladimir Medinsky, special assistant to Vladimir President Putin.
- The groups agreed that their talks needed to continue at the area on the Polish-Belarusian border and that each group will consult on each negotiation position with their national leaders.
- Monday’s talks were attended by multiple high-ranking officials of Putin’s cabinet as well as Ukraine’s government.
- Included in the Russian delegation was Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Duma’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov
- Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov was in attendance as well as Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochitsky as well as Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei and others.
OFFICIALS’ STATEMENTS TO REPORTERS:
- Leonid Slutsky, a member of the Russian delegation and the head of the Duma’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that the two sides had made progress: “The Ukrainian delegation was ready to listen and participate in the most detailed discussion of the essence of the issues on today’s agenda,” Slutsky added. “The main result is that the negotiations themselves took place, that the parties heard each other.”
- “The two sides identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions have been outlined. In order for them to have an opportunity to be implemented…the parties are leaving for consultations in their respective capitals. The possibility of a second round of negotiations in the near future during which these topics will receive concrete, practical development was discussed,” Mikhail Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office said.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stressed on more than one occasion his readiness to facilitate Moscow and Kiev with a negotiating platform, this after comments Saturday saying that external forces were encouraging and “pushing” Kiev to keep fighting and saying that the conflict would only turn into a foreign-backed “meat grinder” for both nations if prolonged.
BACKGROUND:
- The United States has pledged additional military aid for Ukraine that will likely include anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems, according to National Interest.
- “This package will include further lethal defensive assistance to help Ukraine address the armored, airborne, and other threats it is now facing. It is another clear signal that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign, courageous, and proud nation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.
