The third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine concluded with “small” and “positive” developments, said a Ukrainian negotiator on Monday.
“Intensive consultations have continued on the basic political bloc of the regulations, along with a cease-fire and security guarantees,” he added after the talks kicked off in Brest, Belarus, earlier in the day.
Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, told news outlets that “hopefully next time we can take a bigger step forward,” adding that it “is too early to talk about something positive.”
Russia’s and Ukraine’s respective foreign ministers are also slated to meet in Turkey on Thursday, according to Turkey’s top diplomat, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
“Hope this step will lead to peace and stability,” Cavusoglu said on Twitter on Monday, saying that the talks will take place in Antalya, Turkey, which has good relations with both Kyiv and Moscow and is a longtime member of NATO.
“They should make amendments to their constitution according to which Ukraine would reject any aims to enter any bloc,” Peskov told the newswire service late on Monday, adding that Russia isn’t attempting to make any further territorial claims on Ukraine.
Over the weekend, efforts to set up a humanitarian corridor in some Ukrainian cities, including hard-hit Mariupol, fell apart due to fighting. Both Ukrainian and Russian officials accused one another of breaking ceasefire agreements.
On Monday, Zelensky called for harsher punitive measures against Moscow, including a global boycott of Russian oil, which is a key part of its economy.
“If [Russia] doesn’t want to abide by civilized rules, then they shouldn’t receive goods and services from civilization,” he said in a video address posted online. But White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday afternoon said there was “no decision” yet on a possible Russian oil embargo.