Russia has given Ukrainian authorities till 3 pm local time (7 am ET) on Sunday to determine whether to meet in the Belarusian city of Gomel for negotiations.

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The Russian delegation’s head, Vladimir Medinsky, an advisor to President Vladimir Putin, told official news agency RIA Novosti that they would stay until the allotted period and then leave.

“As soon as we receive this confirmation, we shall immediately set off to meet our counterparts in the negotiations,” Medinsky said. “We stand for peace.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the other hand, announced on Sunday that he would be happy to hold talks with Russia but rejected their invitation for a conference in Belarus.

Belarus is a Russian ally that played a crucial part in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian officials, Russian troops crossed the Belarusian border with the backing of the Belarusian government. Following that, the Biden administration sanctioned nine Belarusian defence businesses for their support of the invasion.

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In a speech on Sunday, Zelensky attacked Belarus directly, claiming that “aggressive activities” from Belarusian territory made it impossible to undertake talks in the nation. Ukraine reported it intercepted a cruise missile launched from Belarusian territory toward Kyiv.

On Thursday, the US State Department stated that Zelensky remained “a prime target for Russian aggression,” while Zelensky himself stated that “the enemy marked me as target No. 1.”

“If the talks are rejected, the Ukrainian side shall bear all responsibility for bloodshed,” Medinsky said. “But we remain here until 15:00 waiting for a response from the Ukrainian side.”

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Sunday that he is “waiting” for Ukraine to visit the nation for talks with Russia, which would be hosted by Belarus.

“We are waiting. Everyone is in Gomel waiting. If they come then there will be negotiations,” according to Belarusian state news agency Belta, Lukashenko told reporters after voting in the constitutional referendum in Minsk on Sunday.

According to RIA Novosti, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, a Russian group has already arrived in Belarus for fictitious discussions with Ukrainian representatives.