Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, represented by President Volodymyr Zelensky, are expected to begin early Monday morning, sources quoted by Russian and Ukrainian media have assured.
“It is not a postponement, the meeting will take place in the morning due to a logistical issue on the Ukrainian side,” said a source, which was quoted by the Russian agency TASS.
Likewise, the spokesman for the President of Ukraine, Serguei Nikiforov, pointed out to the nv.ua portal, that after complex logistical measures, in addition to the need to guarantee the safety of the Ukrainian delegation, the arrival at the meeting place will be later.
Ukraine indicated that it will conduct negotiations without conditions at the Aleksdrovka-Vilcha checkpoint, located on the border between Ukraine and Belarus, and it was agreed that the Belarusian delegation would be responsible for the security
Zelensky said that he agreed to the negotiation to make sure that no Ukrainian citizen doubts that his president did not try to prevent the war and that he fought even when there was only a slim chance.
In principle, the Ukrainian delegation refused to hold negotiations with Russia in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, due to its role in the war against Ukrainian territory.
“ If there were no aggressive actions from your territory, we could talk in Minsk, but now we say ‘no’ to Minsk. Other cities can be the venue”, explained Zelenski.
Hours before speaking about the possibility of negotiation, Zelensky asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to start trials against Russia next week after launching the invasion of Ukraine.
