The third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine begins

Photo: Sputnik.

The third round of talks between the representatives of Russia and Ukraine began this Monday in the Belovezha forest.On the border between Belarus and Poland.

The first round of talks took place on February 28, when Moscow and Kiev established a series of priority issues defined by some key decisions.

The second round of talks took place on March 3 The parties agreed on the possibility of a temporary ceasefire to establish humanitarian routes and on humanitarian issues, including the supply of medicine and food in the most intense areas of the conflict.

According to Vladimir Medinsky, presidential adviser to the head of the Russian delegation, the delegations discussed military and international-humanitarian issues and the future political solution to the conflict.

Medinsky pointed out that the positions of the parties are clear and that some of them can find mutual understanding.

For his part, Mikhail Podoliyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidency, pointed out that the Ukrainian delegation had not achieved the desired results after the second round of talks with Russia.

On Saturday, however, the Russian Defense Ministry condemned sections of Ukrainian nationalists for not allowing local and foreign nationals to be evacuated from the cities of Mariupol and Volnovoka (Donbass region) through the approved humanitarian corridors.

Colonel General Miguel Mijintsev, head of the National Security Management Center, explained that humanitarian routes are being opened daily in the direction of these cities, as well as in the case of Kharkov and Sumi, but that nationalist battalions are deliberately blocking public evacuation attempts. Russia. From Donetsk they said they were able to evacuate more than 300 civilians from Mariupol and surrounding areas. So far there are no reports of civilians leaving Volnova.

This Monday, the Russian Armed Forces announced a temporary ceasefire at 10:00 (local time) and the opening of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkov and Sumi. The move comes at the personal request of French President Emmanuel Macron before the catastrophic humanitarian situation and its sharp devastation in the aforementioned cities and before Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vareshuk has criticized Russia’s proposed human evacuation routes as unacceptable.

The German minister has warned that energy shortages could occur if Russian supplies are cut off

German Economy Minister Robert Hebeck. Photo: Getty Images.

German Economy Minister Robert Hebeck has expressed concern about Germany’s energy supply, for example, in the case of oil or gas, if supply chains with Russia are cut off due to the military conflict in Ukraine.

We can live well into spring and summer, but next winter I’m a little more worried, He said in a statement to the ZDF channel.

Arguing for the abolition of nuclear power, the minister said that it was not yet clear whether it would be effective to keep nuclear power plants operational.

He stressed that the use of coal would not help as Germany relied on imports of this raw material.

Hebek said on March 3 that Western sanctions against Russia after the start of special military operations in Ukraine would affect various parts of Berlin’s economy.

The Minister pointed out that the country will continue to depend on Russia’s energy supply for at least a short period of time, so energy imports from Russia will be open for the time being. In doing so, he stressed that he did not share the position of other countries pushing for a ban on Eurasian energy.

Hebek also warned that consumers should be prepared for rising energy prices, although such an increase would not be permanent.

(With information from RT)