Putin 'agrees to meet Zelensky': Russian President 'is ready to talk' with Ukrainian leader after he accused his troops of war crimes – as his deputy PM refuses to give up territory
- Vladimir Putin is believed to have agreed to attend negotiations in person
- Russian President thought to have said he will meet Zelensky 'at some point'
- But he has not yet made any official statements or spoken to the media
- President Zelensky has been asking for a meeting since January with Putin
- Deputy Olha Stefanishyna said Ukraine would 'absolutely not' give up territory
By CHARLOTTE MCLAUGHLIN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 01:31 AEDT, 21 March 2022 | UPDATED: 03:00 AEDT, 21 March 2022
Vladimir Putin has reportedly 'finally agreed' to meet in person with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks.
The Russian tyrant will allegedly meet Zelensky 'at some point', the Express reported, after the Ukrainian leader accused Russia of 'war crimes' amid the bombing of an art school and theatre in Mariupol where civilians were sheltering.
The two leaders have let their diplomatic teams conduct peace talks on the neutral ground ever since the conflict began on February 24 to no avail, but a BBC correspondent today confirmed the two will meet in person.
Putin has come to terms with fact he will have to lead the negotiations at some time in the future, the BBC's Lyse Doucet said.
'The diplomats are talking, the negotiators are talking. We understand President Putin has finally agreed that he will meet, at some point, President Zelensky who has been asking for a meeting since January,' she said.
'He hasn't said it in public, he says quite the opposite in public.'
Zelensky yesterday declared that Russia will 'go down in history of responsibility for war crimes', and admonished the invaders' bombardment and siege of southern port city Mariupol, which has for weeks been pounded by air strikes and missiles.
'To do this to a peaceful city... is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come,' the Ukrainian leader said.
He added that peace talks with Russia are despite being 'not easy and pleasant'.
The BBC has reported that Vladimir Putin will attend the negotiations himself 'at some point' as he bends to international pressure. President Zelensky who has been asking for a meeting since January said peace talks with Russia were needed although they were 'not easy and pleasant'
Zelensky said today the siege of Mariupol would 'go down in history of responsibility for war crimes'. Pictured: Destroyed buildings are seen as civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attack
An evacuation of civilians from secure corridors pictured in Mariupol, Ukraine
Service members of pro-Russian troops in uniforms without insignia drive an armoured vehicle during Russia's invasion of Mariupol
Mariupol, a key connection to the Black Sea, has been a target since the start of the war on February 24, when Putin launched what he calls a 'special military operation' to demilitarise and 'denazify' Ukraine.
Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
The UN human rights office said at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said 112 children have been killed.
Russia has also bombarded an art school and a theatre where hundreds of civilians had been sheltering from air strikes.
Satellite images, released on Saturday, showed the collapsed remains of the theatre where more than 1,300 people, including women and babies, are still feared trapped.
According to reports, Kyiv has insisted on the inclusion of one or more Western nuclear powers future negotiations with the Kremlin and on legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine.
But Chancellor Rishi Sunak today urged a 'degree of scepticism' over any potential peace deal in Ukraine, as an official in Zelensky's office told AP that the main subject discussed between the two sides last week was whether Russian troops would remain in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after the war and where the borders would lie.
Mr Sunak maintained it was 'too early to tell' who would act as the guarantor, but did not rule out the possibility of the UK stepping into the role.
'I think the most important thing is that any talk of a settlement must be on Ukraine's terms,' Sunak told Sky News.
'And the best thing we can do is just maintain the significant pressure that we are bringing to bear on Putin, but also providing support to the Ukrainians in the meantime - that's the best we can do and the Ukrainians will take the lead.'
Zelensky also said today he discussed the course of peace talks with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday.
'Ukraine has always sought a peaceful solution. Moreover, we are interested in peace now,' he said.
General view of the remains of the drama theatre which was hit by a bomb when hundreds of people were sheltering inside, amid ongoing Russia's invasion, in Mariupol, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 18, 2022
Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists, through other cities, in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 20, 2022
Rishi Sunak said that any peace agreement must be on Ukraine's terms. 'The best thing we can do is just maintain the significant pressure that we are bringing to bear on Putin, but also providing support to the Ukrainians in the meantime - that's the best we can do and the Ukrainians will take the lead,' he told Sky News
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna today told Sky News that her nation will not cede any territory to Russia in future peace talks.
'Ukrainian territory is a territory which has been fixed in 1991,' she said.
'Within its entirety and internationally recognised border, it's not only the position of Ukraine, it's the position of the whole world enshrined in numerous decisions of the UN Security Council... so that is not an option for discussion.
'Of course, there might be room for discussion on the reintegration of those territories that have been under occupation for the last eight years.'
'I can say that the feeling of the political priority is still there, while the ultimate agenda of today is the the ceasefire and the security guarantees.'
The deputy prime minister said she believed genocide is being committed against Ukrainian people.
'I absolutely believe it (is a genocide). I am a lawyer myself and I commit myself to implementation of the decision,' she declared.
She referred to the ruling of the International Court of Justice in the Hague, which has urged Russia to 'immediately suspend the military operations' it began on February 24 in Ukraine.
'We know that the words of the ruling, the orders, mean nothing to the Russian Federation, but it's not something I presume or anybody else presumes, this is the reality,' she said. 'Putin and the Kremlin are the worst criminals.
'They commit the worst crimes and they're doing a targeted attempt on the Ukrainian population... it's not a question, it's simply the reality we are all facing in the 21st century.'
Deputy PM Ms Stefanishyna today told Sky News that her nation will not cede any territory to Russia in future peace talks and that she believes what Russia is doing is 'genocide'
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government has tried to maintain neutrality on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, citing Israel's warm ties with both countries and the need to preserve security coordination with Russian troops operating in Syria
Zelensky is scheduled to address Israel's legislature at 6pm this evening.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government has tried thus far to maintain neutrality on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, citing Israel's warm ties with both countries and the need to preserve security coordination with Russian troops operating in Syria.
But several demonstrations have been held in Israel to condemn the invasion, and Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai announced the municipality will screen Zelensky's speech live in the heart of the city.
While walking a cautious diplomatic line, Mr Bennett has sought to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, holding regular phone calls with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, including a three-hour meeting with Putin at the Kremlin on March 5.
Some Ukrainian officials have voiced criticism over Israel's efforts at neutrality, while thanking Mr Bennett for his mediation efforts.
Israel has provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, but so far ruled out sending military hardware to the embattled country.
The Jewish state has also not joined Western sanctions against Russia.
Roman Abramovich, a prominent oligarch allegedly close to Putin who owns Chelsea Football Club and has been hit by sanctions, holds Israeli citizenship and reportedly visited the country last week.
Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who unlike Bennett has explicitly condemned the invasion, pledged that Israel 'will not be a route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and other Western countries'.
Nearly 14,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Israel since the war began.
Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists
The devastation in Mariupol, Ukraine as Russia's invasion continues
Air Marshal Philip Osborn also told Ridge that Russian forces are 'demoralised because they were poorly prepared and proven to be inadequate' and are now stalled because they have 'lost momentum'.
Mr Osborn added: 'We are seeing them pull resources and manpower from across Russia, even from Syria, and that is not a good indication for a supposed superpower'.
'They are stalled because they are running out of options,' he said, adding: 'What is left to them now is to double down on brute force to put pressure on the Ukrainian government.'
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has expressed fear that Mr Putin could be using the negotiations as a 'smokescreen' to prepare for an even more brutal assault.
Elsewhere, Boris Johnson has urged China to get off the fence and join in global condemnation of Russia's invasion.
The Prime Minister, in comments made to the Sunday Times, said he believes some in Xi Jinping's administration are having 'second thoughts' about the neutral stance adopted by Beijing following Russia's actions against its neighbour.