Russia, Ukraine begin talks in Belarus (Day 5) ›World› Granma

Five days after the start of Russian military action in the Ukrainian region, talks between the diplomatic missions began this Monday in the Belarusian region of Komal. Although the exact location has not been specified for security reasons, the meeting is taking place near the Pripyat River.

“Russia and Ukraine are in first talks,” the Belarusian news agency Belda reported. Before the meeting began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky called on the Russians for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of their troops.

For his part, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not provide details on the status of the Russian delegation. He also lamented that the talks had not started a day earlier, citing the Ukrainian Prime Minister’s late arrival due to logistical reasons.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir McKay congratulated the delegations, expressing the wish of his country’s President Alexander Lukashenko that ways be found to resolve the issues during the talks.

On the Russian side, the Kremlin’s adviser Vladimir Medinsky is leading the diplomatic mission. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov participates in the Ukraine delegation, details Russia Today.

The head of the Russian delegation said that Russia was keen to reach an agreement with the Ukrainian delegation in the talks.

Rising oil prices

Oil prices continue to rise in the wake of the new Western sanctions against Russia due to the situation in Ukraine.
According to Telesur, the market continues to follow the developments in Ukraine after the start of the Russian special military operation, and analyzes the reaction of international actors to these events.

North Sea Brent crude (international markets benchmark) rose $ 4.82 or 4.9% to $ 102.75 at 1028 GMT after reaching $ 105.07 a barrel in early trade.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $ 4.62 or 5% at 96.21 after hitting 99.10 in early trade.

Goldman Sachs researchers have raised their monthly Brent oil price estimate from $ 95 to $ 115 a barrel.

According to his calculations, the market needs to reduce oil demand by four million barrels to mitigate the negative impact of the loss of Russian energy exports.

Even diverting the oil flow to the east will not improve the market situation, which would increase the transport time by 12 days, equivalent to 90 million barrels of oil loss, analysts said.

Zelensky is applying for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union

In a message to the country on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky called on the European Union to join Kiev immediately.

According to Telesur, the Ukrainian president pointed out: “We urge Ukraine to urgently join the EU in the new special procedure.”

At the same time, he pointed out that the purpose of the admission process was “to be with all Europeans and, above all, to be on equal terms.”

He also had a telephone conversation with her vonderleyen. There was talk of strengthening Ukraine’s security capabilities, macro-financial assistance and strengthening of Ukraine’s membership. #EU.

– Volodymyr Kelensky (ZelenskyyUa) February 27, 2022

In his words, Zhelensky thanked those who supported Ukraine in the current situation, and promised that it would be “just” for Ukraine to join the community camp after Kiev had previously failed to make a similar request.

It is valid to point out that this Sunday the European Union used the peace aid fund in an extraordinary way to send arms to Ukraine. .

Russia closes its position to a dozen countries

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) has imposed restrictions on corporate flights from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other states, in response to similar actions by aviation authorities in ready-made countries.

In total, Moscow’s response operations will affect flights from 36 states. Although these restrictions apply to companies in Albania, the United Kingdom, Norway and Canada, most affected airlines are from EU countries.

All the countries that appear in the published list are:

Community countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark (Greenland, Faroe Islands, territorial waters), Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Li , Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania and Sweden.

Others: Albania, Norway, Canada, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Jersey, United Kingdom.

They noted that flights from these countries could only be operated with the special permission of the company or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This Sunday, the head of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, announced that the community federation would close its airspace for Russia, affecting any aircraft owned or controlled by a legal person or Russian national. The senior official stressed that private planes were also subject to restrictions.