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Russian President says Ukraine talks still have hope

President Putin told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that he still has hope for negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine.

“Despite the fact that military operations are taking place, we still hope to be able to reach agreements on the diplomatic route,” the president said. Vladimir Putin said while receiving United Nations leaders in Moscow yesterday. “We are still negotiating, not denying it.”

Sitting across from Mr. Guterres across the long table in the Kremlin, Mr. Putin described his efforts to negotiate with Ukraine was derailed following accusations of “brutal behavior” by Russian forces in the town Buchaa suburb of Kiev.

“There were provocations in the village of Bucha, where the Russian military has no connection whatsoever. We know who prepared these provocations, by what means and who participated.” , he said.





Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Moscow on April 26.  Photo: AFP.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Moscow on April 26. Image: AFP.

Ukraine has proposed an international agreement in which other countries will guarantee Kiev’s security. In return Kiev will not join NATO or allow foreign military bases in Ukraine, and at the same time become a neutral, denuclearized country.

Talks in Turkey have stalled after the bodies of civilians were discovered in areas near Kiev that Russian forces once controlled before the withdrawal.

The Russian president told the UN leadership that he was “well aware of the concerns about Russia’s military activities” in Ukraine and was ready to discuss the issue, but noted that the turmoil in the neighboring country stemmed from from the “anti-government coup” in 2014.

Secretary-General Guterres reiterated his call in an earlier meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Moscow and Kiev should work with the United Nations to establish aid corridors and evacuate civilians.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said Putin agreed “in principle” with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to participate in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol.

Dujarric added that further discussion will take place between the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Defense Ministry.

This is Mr. Guterres’ first visit to Moscow since Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine February 24th. The UN Secretary-General is expected to arrive in Kiev shortly after his visit to Moscow.

Thanh Tam (According to AFP)

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