[ad_1]
Russia has given Ukrainian officials a deadline Sunday to decide whether to meet for talks in the Belarusian city of Gomel.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation and aide to President Vladimir Putin, told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that they would stay until the appointed time and wait for a response.
“Once we receive this confirmation, we will leave immediately to meet our counterparts in the negotiations,” Medinsky said. “We stand for peace.”
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he would be willing to hold talks with Russia, but rejected their proposal for a meeting to be held in Belarus.
Belarus is an ally of Russia and has played a key role in the Russian occupation of Ukraine. Russian troops occupied the border with Belarus with the support of the Belarussian government, according to Ukrainian officials. The Biden administration then sanctioned nine Belarusian defense firms for their support of the occupation.
Zelensky addressed Belarus directly in a speech on Sunday, saying “aggressive actions” from Belarusian territory meant that it was not possible to hold talks in the country. Ukraine said it had intercepted a missile fired at Kiev from Belarusian territory.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link