Russia-Ukraine war: Second round of peace talks underway on Belarusian territory

Second round of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives are underway on Belarusian territory, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said on Wednesday evening.

"We hope that they bring about an end to this situation, restore peace in Donbass and enable all people in Ukraine to return to peaceful life," the Ministry added.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted that the country's delegation is traveling to the meeting point after Russian officials said the talks would take place on Thursday.

"Enroute talks with Russian Federation. Already in helicopters. We will start in couple of hours," tweeted Podolyak along with a photo of himself with David Arahamiya, a senior official of the governing party.

"The talks will take place," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier in a video conference.

Lavrov claimed -- without evidence -- that the Ukrainian side had deliberately delayed their arrival, and suggested that the Ukraine is a puppet state of the United States.

Also on Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a Russian delegation was in Belarus waiting for their Ukrainian counterparts.

"Our delegation was in place last night. It was expecting Ukrainian negotiators last night, all night, then in the morning. They are still waiting," he said.

"But as you know, the talks have not started. Ukrainian negotiators are clearly in no hurry. Let's hope they arrive today," added Peskov, CNN reported.

Delegations from both countries were due to meet on Wednesday for a second round of talks.

The first round of talks on Monday lasted for five hours and ended without a breakthrough.

(With IANS inputs)

Published on: Thursday, March 03, 2022, 07:58 PM IST