Ukraine says it has agreed to peace talks with Moscow and was sending its representatives to the Belarus border, local news outlet Pravda reported Sunday.
“We agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with the Russian delegation without preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, near the Pripyat River,” Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement, adding that the talks would be held “without preconditions.”
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine agreed to negotiate with the Kremlin to see what their side has to say and to communicate Ukraine’s position.
“We will be happy if the result of these negotiations is peace,” Kuleba said. “But, and I emphasize this again, we will not give up, we will not capitulate, we will not give away a centimeter of our territory,” he added.
Belarus leader Lukashenko assured Zelensky that “all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarus territory will remain on the ground during the travel, negotiations and return of the Ukrainian delegation,” according to the report.
The talks would be the first to take place since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The development comes following a wave of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that are threatening to cripple the Russian economy.
