Today, April 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with the UN Secretary-General on the war in Ukraine.
This was reported by Meduza.
At the meeting, Putin said that Russia "expects to reach an agreement with Ukraine on the diplomatic track". He added that Russia has always supported and will continue to support the UN.
Putin has traditionally blamed others for the invasion of Ukraine, saying the problem arose after a 2014 coup in Ukraine. He also said that Russia was "forced" to recognize its own formations "Donetsk and Luhansk Peopleʼs Republics".
He called the massacre and execution of civilians in Bucha (Kyiv Oblast) a provocation. "We know who prepared this provocation, we know what kind of people they are", Putin said.
Antonio Guterres raised the issue of humanitarian corridors. He suggested setting up an UN-Russia-Ukraine contact group to address humanitarian issues. Guterres told Putin that the issue of evacuating people from Azovstal needed to be resolved, and stressed his readiness to assess the situation with Russia and Ukraine in 2-3 days.
Also, the UN reports that Putin has agreed to the participation of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal.
- Guterres will then visit Turkey to discuss Ankaraʼs efforts to organize a dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow, and then visit Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.