High-level talks between Kyiv and Moscow are taking place at the Ukraine-Belarus border, five days after Russia launched a war against its western neighbor, Ukraine.
Ukraine’s delegation arrived on this morning at the Gomel region of Belarus, which borders both sides to the conflict.
The Ukraine president’s office said its main goals were an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
The delegation includes Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, among others.
The Russian delegation had come to the meeting location on Sunday.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said “as every hour of conflict brings new casualties among Ukrainian soldiers, we are definitely interested in reaching any agreements as soon as possible”.
“But those agreements should be for the benefit of both sides,” he added.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine entered its fifth day after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military intervention last Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who owns England’s Chelsea football club, accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The development was first reported by the United Kingdom’s Jewish News newspaper, which said Kyiv had reached out to Abramovich through his Jewish contacts in Ukraine in order to seek his assistance.
