Russia-Ukraine war: Russian FM sees 'some hope for compromise' in talks with Kyiv

As the Moscow-Kyiv war stepped into day 21 with peace talks between both sides set to continue for the sixth round, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday stated that there is "some hope for reaching compromise" for a concrete resolution. Speaking to RBC news outlet, Lavrov informed that his assessment was based on the briefing given to him by the negotiators, which includes Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky.

"I am guided by the assessments given by our negotiators. They said the negotiations are not easy for obvious reasons. But nevertheless, there is some hope for reaching a compromise," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, as quoted by RBC news.

Russia-Ukraine talks

Lavrov's statement comes against the backdrop of the scheduled peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegates, which is set to be held for the sixth round on Wednesday, March 16. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that the delegates will hold regular discussions on the burgeoning war over video-conference format. The peace talks began on February 28, four days after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. The first rounds were held near the Belarus-Ukraine border for five hours, however, concluded with no immediate agreements. After the third round, Russia agreed to a ceasefire in the besieged city of Mariupol and opened humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens stranded in the war zones. Until the beginning of this week, nearly 40,000 people have been evacuated through such corridors, Zelenskyy had said.

Russia-Ukraine war

The war in Ukraine has intensified by the day claiming lives of over a thousand. Nearly 2 million have been forced to flee the country after Putin launched the full-blown military attack on February 24. Although Putin has claimed that Russia does not pose threat to Ukrainian territories and the "special military operation" is aimed to demilitarise the country, Russian troops invading Ukraine have shelled innumerable civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and residential buildings.

Following Russia's invasion, dozens of nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia, have imposed economic sanctions and travel bans against Russia. The US and its European allies also announced sanctions on Putin and his cabinet, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Further, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. also banned monetisation of Russian content and broadcasting Russian state-owned media like Sputnik News, RT News, and more.

In retaliation, Moscow has also taken steps against US President Joe Biden and a dozen other high-ranking US officials, including Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Head William Burns, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and former Secretary of State and presidential contender Hillary Clinton who have now been placed on the no-fly list.

(Image: AP)