No plans to occupy Ukraine, says Russia’s UN Envoy
Kyiv/Moscow: Ukraine has demanded the retreat of all Russian forces from its territory during talks between Kyiv and Moscow on the Belarusian border today. The two countries are now planning a second round of talks.
“Talks with the Ukrainian side which lasted about five hours have just wrapped up. We discussed in detail all the items on the agenda and found some common points on which we predict common positions can be found,” Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik reported.
Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of Ukrainian President’s Office, confirmed that a second round of talks was discussed.
“The two sides identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions have been outlined. In order for them to have an opportunity to be implemented…the parties are leaving for consultations in their respective capitals. The possibility of a second round of negotiations in the near future during which these topics will receive concrete, practical development was discussed,” Podolyak said.
The talks were held at Ukraine’s border with Belarus — near the Chernobyl exclusion zone — after a call between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko. Ukraine had earlier refused to talk in Belarus, where Russian troops were stationed before the invasion.
The UN has said 102 civilians, including seven children, have been killed in Ukraine. The UN refugee agency has said tens of thousands are fleeing the fighting, with most crossing into Poland as the total count reaches 400,000. Others are seeking shelter in Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Slovakia. Pope Francis has called for corridors for civilians to escape the fighting.
Putin told his French counterpart that the demilitarisation of Ukraine and Western recognition of Russian sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula were prerequisites to ending fighting in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
The United Nations Security Council will hold a rare emergency special session of the General Assembly today to discuss Russia’s attack on Ukraine. India abstained from the procedural vote, but welcomed the talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Russia’s invasion force has lost momentum and is having logistical and supply problems after facing stiff Ukrainian resistance, the White House claims. However, Russia military has claimed air superiority in Ukraine and alleged that Ukraine is using civilians as human “shield”.
Ukraine claims to have expelled Russian troops from its second city Kharkiv in the east of the country after Russian armoured vehicles got through its defences. The country says it is holding the line around capital Kyiv. Ukrainian military said Monday that Russian troops had slowed down “the pace of the offensive”.
Protests are building up against the invasion. Hundreds of thousands of people are taking part in solidarity marches from Berlin to Baghdad to Quito. Within Russia, over 5,000 people have been arrested for demonstrating against the attack.
European Union members have announced new sanctions and assured Ukraine of more military support in the coming days. The countries will even send fighter jets to help Ukraine counter the Russian assault, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, while speaking at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly on Monday said that Russia has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
“The occupation of Ukraine is not part of our plans. The purpose of this special operation is to protect people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years. For this, it is necessary to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine,” Nebenzya said.
In the aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for putting the nuclear deterrence forces on ‘special alert’, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a UN General Assembly emergency session on Monday called Russia’s decision a “chilling development.” On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to put the deterrence forces of the Russian army in a special mode of combat duty.
“We are facing a tragedy for Ukraine, but also a major regional crisis with potentially disastrous implications for us all,” Guterres said. “Yesterday, Russian nuclear forces were put on high alert. This is a chilling development. The mere idea of a nuclear conflict is simply inconceivable. Nothing can justify the use of nuclear weapons.”
On February 24, Russia recognized the independence of Ukraine breakaway regions following which Western countries have toughened sanctions on Russia.
On Sunday, the Security Council voted to call for an emergency special session of the 193-member UN General Assembly on Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
The measure convening the General Assembly session was adopted by a vote of 11 in favour, with Russia voting against, and China, India, and the United Arab Emirates abstaining.
The request for the Assembly to urgently convene a meeting comes after Russia vetoed on Friday a US-led draft Security Council resolution on Russia.
Since the text acted on Sunday was procedural, none of the five permanent council members could use their vetoes. The measure needed just nine votes in favour to pass.
Only 10 such emergency special sessions of the General Assembly have been convened since 1950, following the adoption of resolution 377A(V), widely known as “Uniting for Peace.”
According to UN News, that text gives the Assembly the power to take up matters of international peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members.
The Security Council’s latest steps to end the Ukraine crisis cap a week of activity at the UN seeking a diplomatic off-ramp to Russian military action in the country. (AGENCIES)
