Ukraine wants to negotiate with Russia in Mariupol
The Ukrainian official proposed holding a “special round of negotiations” with Russia in Mariupol, the besieged port city.
“No need for any conditions. We are ready to hold a ‘special round of negotiations’ right here in Mariupol to save the people, save the Azov battalion, the army, the living and the wounded, everyone. It could be a one-on-one or two-two negotiation,” Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukraine’s top negotiator and presidential adviser, wrote on Twitter on April 20.
Ukrainians at a Russian food distribution point in Mariupol on April 12. Image: AFP.
David Arakhamia, another Ukrainian negotiator, said he and Polodlyak were “ready to go to Mariupol to hold talks with the Russian side on the evacuation of troops and civilians”.
The comments came after the failed attempt to evacuate civilians in Mariupol on April 20. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that “the situation in Mariupol is deteriorating” with thousands of soldiers and civilians trapped in the city.
Svyatoslav Palamar, commander of the Azov battalion in Mariupol, yesterday said his forces were ready to evacuate with civilians from the strategic southern port city, adding that the goal was “to evacuate the wounded, dead out to be buried in territory not controlled by Russia”.
Palamar announced his unit would not surrender and surrender weapons at Russia’s request, calling on “the entire civilized world to guarantee our safety” at the talks.
Moscow has not yet responded to the proposal from Ukrainian negotiators.
New Russian advances in Ukraine. Click on the photo to see details.
Nearly two months after Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine, the southern port city of Mariupol remains one of the fiercest fighting sites. There were 5 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered before Russia’s ultimatum asking forces here to lay down their weapons expired on the afternoon of April 20. Most of the remaining Ukrainian forces are still entrenched in the Azovstal metallurgical plant.
Mariupol is a strategic city on the Azov coast, the corridor on the junction connecting the Crimean peninsula with the breakaway region in eastern Ukraine. If this location is controlled, Russia will be able to connect the strategic corridor and completely block the gateway to the Sea of Azov of Ukraine.
Hong Hanh (According to AFP)
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