Turkey expressed its readiness to host a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky. This was announced on Friday, February 25, in the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
“For the implementation of an attempt at negotiations, the meeting of two leaders is important, no matter the place. If they want to hold such a meeting in Turkey, we will accept it and implement it with pleasure,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on the Turkish NTV channel.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia would sooner or later have to start a dialogue with Ukraine to stop the fighting. He stressed that it is in the interests of both sides to reduce losses. Zelensky tried several times to initiate a conversation with Putin, but to no avail.
However, on the evening of February 25, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said that Kyiv had refused to negotiate with Moscow, suggesting “to postpone this issue until tomorrow.” The Russian side, in turn, also expressed support for the initiative to organize bilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia in Minsk.
On February 24, Russian President Putin announced a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. After that, Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout Ukraine. He also said that Kyiv is breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and withdrawing its diplomats from the embassy.
The Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the army did not carry out air missile or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine. The civilian population of the country is not in danger. High-precision weapons destroy military infrastructure: military airfields, aviation, air defense facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On February 21, the heads of the DPR and LPR Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik appealed to Vladimir Putin with a request to recognize the independence of the republics. The corresponding decrees were signed in the evening of the same day. In the presence of the leaders of the republics, the President of the Russian Federation also signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17, 2022. In the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces was reported, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
