Third Round Of Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Ends: Hampered By Crimea And Donbass Republic, Agrees On Fourth Round

JAKARTA - Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume another round of peace talks, after the two sides concluded the third round of talks on Monday in Belarus, although it has not yielded the expected results.

"The third round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Belarus has ended," the Russian Embassy in Minsk wrote on its Telegram channel, adding that the talks lasted about three hours.

The third round of Russian-Ukrainian talks, held in Belarus on Monday evening, failed to produce the expected results, as the Moscow and Kiev delegations acknowledged.

Russia's chief negotiator, Aide to President Vladimir Medinsky, said the hopes pinned on the talks had failed to come true. Meanwhile, Adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak acknowledged, there are no results for now that may significantly improve the situation.

The two sides agreed to continue negotiations and noted positive changes to the issue of the humanitarian corridor which remained inoperative on Monday.

Russia hopes that the humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians from hostile areas, discussed last Friday, will begin to function properly on Tuesday, Medinsky told media.

He said the Russian delegation asked this question in a "blank" manner to accept the firm promises of the Kiev delegation. The Russian presidential aide blamed problems with the opening of the humanitarian corridor on local Ukrainian military commanders, who disobeyed orders from their superiors and the authorities.

Podolyak said in a video posted to Twitter that the two sides had agreed to some changes to logistics, which, he said, would make aid to civilians more effective, but did not disclose details.

On Monday morning, the Russian military opened corridors for civilians out of Kyiv, Kharkov, Sumy, and Mariupol, but the evacuation of civilians was disrupted. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk dismissed Moscow's option as "unacceptable."

The Moscow delegation has brought to Belovezhskaya Pushcha 'concrete' agreements, drafts, and proposals with the hope of signing 'at least a protocol' on the matters agreed in principle, Medinsky said.

Meanwhile, Podolyak said consultations on a basic political settlement package combined with a ceasefire and security guarantees would be proposed, but no concrete results have yet been achieved.

The Russian proposal, as State Duma committee chair Leonid Slutsky put it, includes "political aspects, denazification, the Russian language and, of course, everything to do with neutral status and demilitarization."

He stressed that Moscow's stance on this issue "is not a basis for further consultations, but an unshakable foundation."

Earlier, the chairman of the parliamentary faction of Ukraine's ruling faction, David Akhramiya, one of the participants in the negotiations, said Moscow and Kyiv were able to reach a practical compromise on all issues except the status of Crimea and the Donbass republic. He argued their admission would be "unacceptable by Ukrainian society."

Meanwhile, Moscow has repeatedly said recognition of the Republic of Donetsk and Lugansk and Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and Sevastopol is a firm stance. The same applies to requests for special clauses in the constitution, ruling out Ukraine's accession to any bloc, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters.

"Russian-Ukrainian negotiations will continue and Moscow hopes that "more tangible steps forward will be made," Medinsky said.

Although no one has mentioned a specific date or place, Slutsky said the next round will be held in Belarus in the near future. He also reminded that the negotiation process would not be easy and time-consuming.

"Let's not give in to the illusion that the final result is only a step or two away from us. There is hard and systematic work ahead," he straightforwardly.