Negotiator: Ukraine won’t give up territory for peace with Russia

A man talks to Ukrainian soldiers across a destroyed bridge on the road near the village of Rus'ka Lozova, north of Kharkiv, on May 16, 2022. (DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP)

Ukraine will not exchange its territories for a peace deal with Russia, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the peace talks with Russia.

"It is ideologically unacceptable for us to give something to the Russian Federation and pretend that it was some kind of easy war," Podolyak said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the peace talks with Russia, noted that many Ukrainian civilians were either killed or assaulted in the conflict, making it impossible for Ukraine to make concessions to Russia

He noted that many Ukrainian civilians were either killed or assaulted in the conflict, making it impossible for Ukraine to make concessions to Russia.

Ukraine will not agree on a ceasefire with Russia without troop withdrawal as Russia will control part of Ukrainian territory, Podolyak said.

He also ruled out the signing of a deal with Russia similar to the Minsk peace agreements, saying it would only lead to a frozen conflict, but not sustainable peace.

Earlier in the day, Podolyak said that the negotiation process within the delegations between Ukraine and Russia has been suspended. At the same time, he voiced the belief that peace talks will resume.

Ukraine and Russia held the latest round of their face-to-face peace talks in Istanbul of Turkey on March 29.

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The Minsk agreements, reached in September 2014 and February 2015 respectively, outlined the steps needed to end the conflict in Ukraine's eastern region of Donbass that started in April 2014. 

Zelensky holds talks with Scholz, Macron

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held separate phone talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron.

In his conversation with Scholz, Zelensky discussed the situation on the frontline, prospects for peace and further sanctions on Russia over the conflict with Ukraine, the Ukrainian president tweeted.

In the talks with Macron, Zelensky informed the French leader about the course of hostilities in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the operation to rescue the military from Azovstal and the vision of the prospects of the negotiation process with Russia.

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Zelensky and Macron also discussed defense support for Ukraine, preparation of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, and possible ways to export Ukrainian agricultural products.

They also touched upon the issue of fuel supplies to Ukraine, and Ukraine's application for the candidate status of a EU membership.  

This handout satellite image released on April 30, 2022 by Maxar Technologies shows the Azovstal steel plant, Mariupol's last holdout, where hundreds of civilians are sheltering with Ukrainian troops on April 29, 2022. (SATELLITE IMAGE  ©2022 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES / AFP)

Mariupol

Also on Tuesday, Ukraine's government-run Ukrinform news agency quoted Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyare as saying that the evacuation of Ukrainian troops from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol was the only possible formula for their rescue.

"Unfortunately, military unblocking is impossible in this situation. There can be no other formula of salvation than the one currently in use. It was the only way out," Malyar said.

Ukrainian military forces have fully fulfilled their combat mission in Mariupol, Malyar said.

She added that the rescue operation from Azovstal will continue until Ukrainian soldiers return home from the uncontrolled territory.

READ MORE: Ukraine to continue evacuation from Mariupol

Malyar said that 53 seriously wounded soldiers were taken to a healthcare facility in Novoazovsk town for medical treatment, while 211 other troops were taken to Olenivka town through the humanitarian corridor.

Kiev expects that the Ukrainian soldiers will be exchanged for the captured Russians.

Mariupol, a key Azov Sea port city in eastern Ukraine, saw one of the worst bouts of violence in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Azovstal plant, which covers about 11 square km, is the holdout of the Ukrainian forces in Mariupol. 

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