Ukrainian Foreign Minister Calls Mariupol Situation Possibly A Red Line In Peace Negotiations

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. (Wikimedia Commons/Eduard Kryzhanivsky)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said there has been no recent diplomatic communication between Russia and Ukraine at the foreign ministry level, with the situation at the Mariupol port, which he described as 'terrible', possibly becoming a 'red line' in the negotiation path.

"Mariupol is probably a red line," he told CBS News in an interview on Sunday, quoted by Reuters on April 18.

The Ukrainian army rejected a Russian ultimatum to lay down arms Sunday in the devastated port city of Mariupol, which Moscow says its troops have almost completely lost in what will be its biggest prize from the nearly two-month war.

"We haven't really had any contact with Russian diplomats in recent weeks at the foreign ministry level," Kuleba said in the interview.

"The only level of contact is the negotiating team consisting of representatives of various institutions and members of parliament. They continue consultations at the expert level, but there are no high-level talks," he explained.

Foreign Minister Kuleba said he expected intensification of heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine in the coming weeks.

When asked about the prospects for US President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine, he said Ukraine would be happy to welcome him, assessing the visit would send a message of support.

Separately, the White House, however, said earlier this week there were no plans for Biden to visit the country that Russia invaded in late February.

"We are not sending the president to Ukraine," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki last Friday.

As reported earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said troops in Mariupol were still fighting despite Russia's demand to surrender before dawn.

"The city still hasn't fallen. So there is no complete control of Mariupol by the Russian forces," Shmyhal told ABC's 'This Week' program, adding that Ukrainian troops continued to control parts of the city.

Earlier, Russia said on Saturday it controlled the urban part of Mariupol, with a few Ukrainian fighters remaining at the Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov.

The Azovstal steelworks, one of Europe's largest metallurgical plants with a maze of railroad tracks and blast furnaces, had become the last resort for outnumbered defenders.

"All those who lay down their weapons are guaranteed their lives will be saved," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Seizing Mariupol, the main port in the southeastern Donbas region, would be a strategic gift for Russia, linking territory held by pro-Russian separatists in the east with the Crimea region captured by Moscow in 2014.