A team of delegates from Moscow arrived in Belarus to begin “first negotiations” with Ukrainian counterparts, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday. The group includes high-ranking officials from foreign, defence ministries and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s office. The delegation is currently waiting in the Belarusian city of Gomel and “now waiting for the Ukrainians.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected the Kremlin’s offer of talks in Belarus on Sunday, saying the country was a staging ground for the Russian invasion, reported agencies. Zelenskiy, however, left the door to negotiations open in other locations. Russia had offered to hold talks with Ukrainian officials in the Belarusian city of Gomel. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, meanwhile, called on Kyiv to sit down and hold talks with Russia so that Ukraine does not lose its statehood, Russia’s RIA news agency reported
