Russia-Ukraine war: Fourth round of peace talks paused till Tuesday

The fourth round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia has been paused until Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's aide Mykhailo Podolyak on Monday.

"A technical pause has been taken in the negotiations until tomorrow. For additional work in the working subgroups and clarification of individual definitions. Negotiations continue...," tweeted Podolyak.

This comes as the fourth session of talks was being held virtually with the Ukrainian negotiating team present in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy on Monday termed the negotiations as "difficult talks".

"Difficult talks continue. Everybody is waiting for news. This evening we will report on the outcome," he said in a video message, according to CNN.

Notably, the first round of talks between the two sides was held in the Gomel region of Belarus on February 28. The second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine over the crisis in Ukraine was held in Belarus on March 3.

The third round of negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia were held in Belarus on March 7.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24 after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republic requested help in 'defending themselves.' The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.

However, denying these claims by the Russians, the Western nations have imposed comprehensive sanctions on Moscow. In addition, they introduced sanctions on Belarus for supporting Russia's operation in Ukraine.