Delegations from Russia and Ukraine started talks in southeastern Belarus on Monday with solely modest hopes for a breakthrough that would finish preventing that began when Russian forces invaded Ukraine final week.
Ukraine initially rejected attending talks in Belarus as a result of Russian forces stationed there have joined the invasion. But then Ukrainian officers agreed to ship a delegation to the assembly in Gomel, a metropolis close to the borders of Russia and Ukraine. “You can feel absolutely safe,” Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei of Belarus advised the delegates in the beginning of the assembly. “Any request or proposal you may have about today’s meeting will be taken into account and action.”
Video from Belarus’s official information company confirmed a handful of delegates from both sides sitting down on reverse sides of a protracted desk. The flags of Russia and Ukraine, along with that of Belarus, stood on the head of the desk whereas smaller flags on the desk denoted both sides.
{A photograph} launched by Belarus confirmed Ukrainian delegates arriving in a army helicopter for the talks. The Ukrainian delegation included the protection minister and deputy international minister, whereas Russia’s delegation was being led by Vladimir R. Medinsky, an adviser to President Vladimir V. Putin.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stated earlier than the assembly that he anticipated little to come back from the talks. He declined to conform to any circumstances or concessions earlier than discussions.