No consensus on ceasefire, Ukraine-Russia agree on humanitarian corridor

Russian and Ukrainian representatives conducted a second round of diplomatic talks at an undisclosed location near the Ukraine-Belarus border to discuss a ceasefire and other issues related to the ongoing conflict in the eastern European country, but no agreement for a ceasefire was reached between the two parties.

According to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, the key issues on the agenda of the meeting were “immediate ceasefire, armistice, [and] humanitarian corridors for the removal of civilians from destroyed or constantly shelled villages and towns.”

However, after the talks, Podolyak tweeted, “The second round of negotiations is over. Unfortunately, the results Ukraine needs are not yet achieved.”

“There is a solution only for the organization of humanitarian corridors,” he added, hinting that the evacuation of civilians and the provision of aid is likely to become easier as the conflict rages on. 

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The talks come on a day when Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that he intended to continue military action in Ukraine.

“This conversation is unfortunately an occasion to hear that President Putin will continue military interventions and to go all the way,” CNN quoted an Elysee official as saying after a high-stakes phone call between Putin and Macron.

Macron reportedly warned the Russian President that he was making a big mistake by continuing military action in Ukraine, but the French President’s warning is likely to go unheeded if reports are to be believed.

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Russian and Ukrainian parties had met earlier to discuss a ceasefire but could not come to an agreement after the first round of talks.

Since the invasion began, at least several hundred have been killed on both sides of the conflict, and more than a million people have been displaced from Ukraine.