RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has expressed his hopes to reach a diplomatic agreement with Ukraine, saying that negotiations are underway and they do not reject them.
Speaking ahead of his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Putin said Russia strongly supports the principles on which the UN is based and intends to do so in the future.
According to Bernama, Putin said the negotiations in March with Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkey were a very serious breakthrough.
“But unfortunately, after reaching the agreements, after making it clear that we intend to create favourable conditions for the continuation of the negotiations in Bucha, we were faced with a provocation that the Russian army had nothing to do with,” Putin was reported as saying by Anadolu Agency.
“We know who prepared this provocation, who did it.”
Noting that the Ukrainian negotiators’ attitudes towards a solution changed dramatically after the Bucha incident, Putin remarked that despite everything, the negotiations continue online and he still hopes for a positive result.
At least 2,729 civilians have been killed and 3,111 others injured in Ukraine since Russia launched its war on Feb 24, according to UN estimates. The true toll is feared to be much higher. – April 27, 2022
