Ukraine says peace talks with Russian delegation to resume in online format from April 1

Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations will resume in an online format from April 1, Friday, stated David Arakhamia, parliamentary leader of the party of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Both sides had met in person in Turkey just this week to resolve the ongoing war in Ukraine after Russia announced its 'special' military operation on February 24.

According to the messages posted by Arakhamiaon Telegram, during the recent Moscow-Kyiv talks that took place in Istanbul, it was noted that a meeting between Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin should be set up. However, the parliamentary leader of Zelenskyy's party stated that the Russian side first demanded for a draft agreement with stronger approval on both sides. 

While the Ukrainian negotiator called for the Zelensksyy-Putin meet to be held next, no date or official meeting between the two leaders has been scheduled yet. Arakhamia said, "At the same time, we insist that such a meeting does not take place on the territory of Russia or Belarus". 

Nothing 'concrete' in talks with Russia: Zelenskyy

In the latest national address,  Zelenskyy said that nothing "concrete" has come out of the talks ongoing with Russia. He even went on to declare that "We do not believe in anyone". 

Speaking after the Russian military claimed to de-escalate from Kyiv and Chernihiv, Zelenskyy stated, "We know that this is not a withdrawal, but the consequences of... the work of our defenders...But we also see that at the same time there is an accumulation of Russian troops for new strikes in Donbas. And we are preparing for this."

Before Zelenskyy warned against a strong offensive in the Donbas region, Ukrainian armed forces had voiced their concerns over Russia's announcement of de-escalation from Kyiv and Chernihiv. General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Tuesday had said Russia’s withdrawal from north Ukraine is just a rotation of troops with an aim to “mislead” the Ukrainian military’s leadership. 

Following Moscow’s announcement of pulling back troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv, Ukrainian armed forces released an intelligence report as of 10 PM (local time) and confirmed that Russia continued to withdraw from the said territories in Ukraine’s north. The statement said that Russia was just ‘rotating’ individual troops. 

Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces said, “According to some indications, the Russian enemy is regrouping units to focus its main efforts on the east.”

“At the same time, the so-called ‘withdrawal of troops’ is probably a rotation of individual units and aims to mislead the military leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and create a misconception about the occupiers’ refusal to plan to encircle the city of Kyiv,” it added. 

Image: AP