Russia, Ukraine delegations end fourth round of talks, no breakthrough reported

Europe, News March 16, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Russian and Ukrainian delegations held the fourth round of peace talks via video link after a technical pause

The fourth round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine resumed on March 15 after the two sides announced a break for a “technical pause.”

The Russian delegation hailed “significant progress” in talks, while the Ukrainian negotiators indicated that Moscow’s negotiators had stopped issuing “ultimatums” and carefully listened to Ukraine’s positions.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that Russian demands during the peace talks are becoming ‘more realistic’.

However, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that it’s too early to draw any conclusions. He said “We don’t want to give any forecasts. Let’s wait for tangible results.”

“The work is complex, but the very fact that the work is continuing is in itself positive,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

According to Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich, the war between Russia and Ukraine might last till May, however, it is expected that an agreement could be reached within weeks.

Ukrainian media outlets published a video of Arestovich saying, “I think that no later than in May, early May, we should have a peace agreement, maybe much earlier, we will see, I am talking about the latest possible dates.”

*^{Ukrainian delegation during online talks with the Russian delegation. (Image Credit: Twitter/Podolyak)}*

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on March 14 that the main focus of the peace talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations would be a ceasefire, the immediate withdrawal of troops, and security guarantees.

“The parties actively express their specified positions. Communication is being held yet it’s hard. The reason for the discord is too different political systems,” Podolyak posted on Twitter.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have held four rounds of talks to resolve the ongoing conflict through diplomatic means as the war between two nations enters the fourth week.

Earlier the delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Belarus on March 7 to discuss the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure protection for civilians.

^{Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Tochytskyi, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukrainian Parliament member Davyd Arakhamia, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Pesidential Office Mykhailo Podoliyak (from L) and Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Rudenko, Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin, Russian President Putin’s adviser Vladimir Medinsky, Russian State Duma member Leonid Slutsky, Russia’s Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov (from R) at a third round of Russian-Ukrainian talks at Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus. (Image Credit: Maxim Guchek/BELTA/TASS)}

Separately, United Nations’ International Organization for Migration Chief Antonio Vitorino called for “immediate cessation of hostilities” and said that “Three million lives uprooted. Three million women, children, and vulnerable people separated from their loved ones.”

The International Organization for Migration’s spokesperson Paul Dillon said that more than three million civilians have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine on February 24.

“We have now reached the 3 million mark in terms of movement of people out of Ukraine,” Paul Dillon said in a press conference.