Kyiv: The first round of talks between Ukraine and Russia, which lasted nearly five hours on Monday, remained inconclusive.
Ukraine’s main demands
* Immediate ceasefire
* Immediate withdrawal of Russian troops
Russia’s main demands
* Demilitarisation of Ukraine
* Guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO
* Western recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea
The talks took place near the Belarus-Ukraine border near the Chernobyl exclusion zone. A second round of talks was agreed on the Polish-Belarusian border.
Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian delegation, said the two sides “found certain points on which common positions could be foreseen”.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the talks focused on a possible ceasefire.
