Photo taken on Feb. 26, 2022 shows a night view in Kiev, capital of Ukraine. (LI DONGXU, XINHUA)
KIEV / MOSCOW / WASHINGTON – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday rejected Russia's offer of holding negotiations in Belarus, suggesting alternative cities including Budapest and Warsaw for talks.
Zelensky made the remarks in a video address posted on his Telegram channel shortly after the Kremlin announced that a Russian delegation has arrived in Belarus and will be ready to start negotiations with Ukraine in the city of Gomel.
Zelensky made the remarks in a video address posted on his Telegram channel shortly after the Kremlin announced that a Russian delegation has arrived in Belarus and will be ready to start negotiations with Ukraine in the city of Gomel
The president said Ukraine is ready for talks with Russia, but Belarus is not an option because Russia has been carrying out some of its attacks from Belarus. "We're saying no to Minsk. Other cities can be a place to meet," he said.
"We're saying no to Minsk. Other cities can be a place to meet," the president said. "Of course, we want peace, we want to meet, we want for the war to end. Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul, Baku — we have suggested all that to Russia," he added.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a delegation including representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and other government agencies has arrived in Belarus.
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Moscow is preparing for negotiations with "all constructive forces" on a settlement in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Russia emphasized its readiness for a quick settlement in Ukraine for the sake of peace and stability, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Lavrov informed Cavusoglu about Russia's current military operation in Ukraine, reiterating the aim of ensuring "the security of the civilian population and demilitarizing Ukraine," it added.
Also on Saturday, the White House announced that the United States, joined by European nations and Canada, will remove some Russian banks from SWIFT, the payment system used for most international financial transactions.
This is a major move to escalate the West's economic sanctions against Moscow for its ongoing military operations in Ukraine.
The White House said in a joint statement that in concert with the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and Canada, the United States is supporting the expulsion of "selected Russian banks" from SWIFT "within the coming days," so as to "further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies."
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Kicking those Russian banks out of SWIFT, the high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions worldwide, "will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally," according to the statement.
In addition, restrictive measures will be imposed to "prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves" in ways that undermine the impact of the Western sanctions, said the statement.
People from Ukraine arrive at Beregsurany, eastern Hungary, Feb 26, 2022. (ATTILA VOLGYI / XINHUA)
Measures will also be taken to limit the sale of the so-called "golden passports" to prevent "wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government" from becoming citizens of the aforementioned countries and to ensure that those individuals are unable to "gain access to our financial systems."
The leaders of those countries also vowed to launch in this coming week a joint task force to enforce the implementation of the financial sanctions.
The joint statement also called on other governments to "detect and disrupt" the flow of those Russian elites' gains and deny their ability to hide their assets in jurisdictions across the world.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday authorized "a special military operation" in Donbass, and Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack.
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The Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 975 Ukrainian military infrastructure objects since the start of operations, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Sunday.
Russia continued its strike against Ukraine's military infrastructure on Saturday using air- and sea-launched cruise missiles, Konashenkov told a regular briefing, reiterating that the Russian military takes all measures to ensure the safety of civilians.
The Russian armed forces have completely blockaded the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk in southern Ukraine, he said.
He added that a total of 471 Ukrainian service members have been detained and will be sent to their families after paperwork.
