The Russian government today accused Ukraine of a “complete lack of will” to negotiate an end to the conflict that began with the occupation of Ukrainian territory on February 24.
“Negotiations are not progressing and we see a complete lack of willingness from Ukrainian negotiators to continue the process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.
Yesterday, Interfax news agency reported that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said that Russia and Ukraine were not meeting “in any form” and that Kiev “almost withdrew from the negotiation process”.
Last week, Peskov reported that a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky is “impossible” to take place at this time. The statement came shortly after the Ukrainian president said in an interview with the talk show “Porta a Porta” that he was ready to negotiate.
Yesterday, the Ukrainian presidency said that the dialogue was interrupted because of Moscow. “The negotiation process is pending,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky’s adviser.
“Russia does not understand that the war is no longer fought according to its rules, schedule or plans,” he said.
Delegations from both sides met several times, but did not achieve concrete results. According to Russian agencies, the last meeting between the leaders of the negotiating teams took place on April 22.
The war completes 84 days
According to today’s report of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, “Russian invaders continue to carry out missile attacks on military and civilian targets throughout the country”.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said today that another 694 Ukrainian fighters at the Azovstal complex in Mariupol have surrendered. In total, 959 militants have surrendered since May 16, 80 of whom were wounded,” he said. Azovstal was the last point of resistance against the Russian occupation in the port city of southeast Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense also stated that it carried out more attacks in the eastern Ukraine. stated.
“Russia is preparing for a long-term military operation,” said the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov yesterday. “The war is entering a long phase.”
NATO: Sweden and Finland submit their candidacy
Sweden and Finland submitted their candidacy for NATO membership today. “A fine day at a critical time for our security,” said Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the military alliance.
According to him, the nominations are a “historic step” and the presence of the two countries in NATO could increase our “common security”. Stoltenberg also advocated expanding the military alliance. “All Allies agree on the importance of NATO enlargement.”
For the past few months, Russia has been critical of the effects that the two countries’ entry into a military alliance would have on the region. Finland and Russia share a border of approximately 1,300 kilometers.
The accession process is expected to take just a few weeks, but diplomats said it could take up to a year to approve the accession of new members, as the parliaments of the 30 countries that make up the alliance must approve the candidates.
* With information from AFP, ANSA and Reuters
source: Noticias
