Russia-Ukraine talks: There is still a hope

The Russian and Ukrainian delegations failed to come to a solution to the crisis around Donbass at the talks in Belarus on February 28. The parties, however, agreed to continue communication after they conducted consultations in Moscow and Kyiv.

It is assumed that a new meeting between the delegations may take place in "a couple of days," Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said.

According to Ukrainian representative Mikhail Podolyak (adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine), the parties could find a number of priority topics, on which they could outline certain decisions.

Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, (Putin's aide), also said that the parties found a few issues, on which their positions could later coincide.

Other members of the Russian delegation noted the readiness of the Ukrainian side to listen and discuss the proposed measures. However, the talks in Belarus were fruitless. Kyiv representatives were the first to leave the meeting.

The talks between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine were held on the banks of the Pripyat River, in a secret location code-named "fisherman's house". The Ukrainians arrived for the talks on Polish helicopters before noon Moscow time, and the talks began about an hour later than scheduled, at around 13:00 Moscow time.

The Russian delegation was chaired by Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky. It also included:

• Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko,
• Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov,
• Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin,
• chief of the international committee of the State Duma Leonid Slutsky.

The Ukrainian delegation included:

• Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov,
• head of the Servant of the People faction David Arakhamia,
• Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochitsky,
• adviser to the head of the presidential office Mikhail Podolyak,
• deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Rustem Umerov,
• first deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group Andriy Kostin.

In total, the three rounds of the negotiations lasted for about six hours.

On February 24, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko publicly addressed the parties to the conflict, inviting them to a meeting in Minsk.

"We are the Slavs, the three Slavic peoples. Let's sit down and decide our fate for the future, once and for all," Lukashenko said.

After the failed talks, the parties agreed to continue their communication after consultations in Moscow and Kyiv.