Russia-Ukraine peace talks identify several 'priority topics'; second meeting likely soon

As the Russian offensive on Ukraine entered its fifth day, delegations of both countries met for peace talks on the Ukraine-Belarus border on Monday, February 28. At the discussions, that lasted for over five hours, both sides discussed in detail all the items on the agenda and found some common points on which common positions can be found, Sputnik reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's advisor Mykhailo Podoliak said that a second meeting would be held in the near future.

Apart from Podoliak, the Ukrainian delegation included the Minister of Defence Oleksiy Reznikov, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mykola Tochytskyi. The Russian delegation was led by Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.

In a statement released after the conclusion of the Ukraine-Russia peace talks, the advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Podoliak, said that the main purpose of the meeting was to enable a ceasefire and end "hostilities on the territory of Ukraine." 

"The Ukrainian and Russian delegations have completed the first round of talks, the main purpose of which was to cease fire and hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. The parties identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions were outlined. The parties are going back to their capitals to enable the implementation of these decisions in logistics solutions," Podoliak said.

"The parties discussed the possibility of holding a second round of talks in the near future, in which these topics will receive concrete development practices," he added.

The Ukrainian President's advisor, however, accused the Kremlin's delegation of being biased during the Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

"Negotiations are difficult...Unfortunately, the Russian side is still extremely biased regarding the destructive processes it launched," Podoliak wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, as per several media reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, 'demilitarisation and denazification of the Ukrainian state' and assurance of a neutral status of Ukraine.

Sanctions on Russia over Ukraine war

In retaliation to the Russia-Ukraine war, the West has imposed several severe sanctions on Moscow. The US has frozen assets of Russia's Central Bank and also sanctioned the state investment fund. The European Union and several countries have also closed their airspace for Russian planes. 

Additionally, the United States and its allies have decided to cut Russia's private banks off the SWIFT payment network, the international domain for global financial transactions.  

In response, Russia has banned flights by airlines from 36 nations, including Germany and Britain. Moscow has also banned all residents from transferring money abroad. 

(Image: AP)