Kiev (agencies)
On the third day of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Kremlin accused Kiev yesterday of thwarting the possibility of a truce by refusing to start peace talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The Russian president ordered yesterday to halt the advance of the main forces, expecting the start of negotiations.” “After the Ukrainian side refused the negotiations, the progress of the Russian forces resumed,” he added.
But Ukraine denied indications that it refused to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia, but said it was also not ready to accept ultimatums or unacceptable conditions.
Mikhailo Podolak, adviser to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Ukraine had prepared a negotiating position, but faced impractical negotiating conditions from Russia.
“The combat operations of the armed forces of the Russian Federation escalated, even evening and night air and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities,” he said in a message.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously suggested peace negotiations on a neutral status for his country, while Putin called on Ukraine to give up joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). After that, there was an indication that the two sides wanted to negotiate. According to Russian data, an offer was immediately made to the Ukrainian side, but Kiev has not yet responded.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron warned yesterday that the war in Ukraine “will be prolonged” and “we must prepare for it,” noting that the government is preparing a “resilience plan” to confront the economic consequences of the crisis.
“The war has returned to Europe, and this war will be prolonged,” Macron said at the opening of the International Agricultural Exhibition in Paris, stressing that “it will not be without consequences for the world of agriculture.”
He added, “There will certainly be consequences for our exports in the main sectors,” such as grain and fodder, adding, “We are in the process of developing a resilience plan.” Macron spoke for twenty minutes before leaders of professional organizations. He shortened his visit to the exhibition, which continues until March 6 due to the international crisis.
Food specialists fear Russian measures that would cripple trade, in response to Western sanctions.
France is the ninth largest supplier of agro-food products to Russia, with a value of 780 million euros annually, according to the French agro-industrial association “ANYA”.
There are many large French companies in Ukraine operating mainly in the dairy, grain and seed sector.
In addition, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirmed yesterday, during a phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky, “the United Nations’ determination to strengthen humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people,” according to a statement by the international organization.
The statement stated that the Secretary-General “informed the Ukrainian President that the United Nations will, on Tuesday, launch an appeal for funding for the organization’s humanitarian operations in Ukraine.”
The United Nations has demanded a “safe and unimpeded passage” for humanitarian aid to reach Ukraine, which the Russian army has entered. The organization said: It expects the displacement of up to 1.8 million people, due to the war in the near future. The United Nations also called for “the protection of 7.5 million children in Ukraine from the repercussions of the conflict”, and for all parties to refrain from attacking civilian infrastructure, especially those that have impacts on children, especially schools, medical facilities, water and the sewage network.
And before Moscow launched its attack on Ukraine on Wednesday night, the United Nations, which has about two thousand employees in Ukraine, provided assistance to about three million people, mainly in the east of the country.
For his part, Zelensky announced that he had asked Guterres to deprive Russia of the right to vote in the Security Council, in response to the attack.