Ukraine to hold talks with Russia 'without preconditions'

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday announced that a delegation representing his country and Russian officials would meet on the Belarusian border.

“We agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with the Russian delegation without preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, near the Pripyat River,” Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account.

Noting that the move came after his conversation with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Zelenskyy said Lukashenko will ensure aerial elements as well as missiles stationed in Belarus would remain on the ground during the travel and meeting of the Ukrainian delegation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine. He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy its neighbor, but wanted to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.

Western powers have imposed financial sanctions on Moscow, and decided to supply Ukraine with weapons and ammunition.

At least 368,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the beginning of the attack, according to the UN Refugee Agency.