A Russian presidential aide said talks between Russia and Ukraine near the Ukraine-Belarus border are anticipated to begin at noon Moscow time (4 a.m. ET) on Monday, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who is leading the Kremlin’s delegation, said his team was “ready for negotiations immediately after their (the Ukrainian side’s) arrival.”
Separately, Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Medinsky as saying the logistics for the Ukrainian delegation were “very difficult,” with the arrival time being postponed several times.
More on the meeting: The two delegations will meet near the Pripyat River at the border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called Zelensky on Sunday and offered safety guarantees, saying Lukashenko had “taken responsibility for ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on the Belarusian territory will remain on the ground during the Ukrainian delegation’s travel, meeting and return.”
Monday’s planned meeting follows a flurry of statements from the Kremlin, which claimed earlier the Ukrainian side had countered Russia’s proposal to meet in Belarus with a proposal to meet in Warsaw and then dropped contact. Zelensky’s office denied claims that Kyiv refused to negotiate.
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