Putin, UN chief meet to discuss Ukraine

Moscow [Russia], April 27 (ANI/Xinhua): Russian President Vladimir Putin met with visiting United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the Kremlin on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Putin told Guterres that the Ukrainian issue arose after the 2014 “unconstitutional coup” in Kyiv and people in Donbass remained under blockade and military pressure even after the Minsk agreements on a peaceful settlement were reached.

According to Putin, the Donbass “republics” have the right to declare their sovereignty and Russia has the right to recognize their independence and provide them with military assistance in full accordance with the UN Charter.

“Despite the ongoing military operation, we still hope that we will be able to reach agreements on the diplomatic track. We are negotiating and we do not refuse them,” he said.

Guterres proposed creating a contact group where the UN, Russia and Ukraine can discuss the situation together so that the humanitarian corridors are truly effective.

He said that to resolve the situation in Ukraine’s Mariupol, the UN is ready to fully mobilize its logistical capabilities and human resources, working together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as well as the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces.

Guterres also said that the UN is ready in two or three days, together with the ICRC, to assess the situation at the Azovstal plant in order to evacuate civilians from there. In response, Putin denied reports that Russian humanitarian corridors are not working and stressed that 130,000 to 140,000 people have left Mariupol with the assistance of Russia and they are free to go anywhere.

Putin also offered an opportunity to UN and ICRC representatives to have a look at how Russia treats Ukrainian war prisoners. Before his trip to Moscow, Guterres met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday in the capital Ankara. The UN chief will travel to Ukraine following talks with Putin. (ANI/Xinhua)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warns of World War III

Moscow [Russia], April 26 (ANI): Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned against an imminent World War III looming in the forefront as Ukraine fails to comply with the peace talks.

Lavrov spoke with various Russian news agencies where he criticized Ukraine’s approach to the peace talks, reported The Moscow Times. He said: “Goodwill has its limits. But if it isn’t reciprocal, that doesn’t help the negotiation process.”

On the recent meeting between Russia and Ukraine, held in Istanbul, Turkey, Lavrov mentioned that Kyiv had presented a draft agreement that marked a departure from its previous stand.

Further, Lavrov asserted that Russia will continue to engage in negotiations with the team assigned by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But, he added that Zelenskyy was pretending on peace talks.

Lavrov warned that the danger of World War III is as real as it sounds. “The danger is serious, it is real, you can’t underestimate it,” the Russian Foreign Minister quoted by The Moscow Times. (ANI)

IAEA to set up working group to support Ukrainian nuclear facilities

Vienna [Austria], April 27 (ANI/Sputnik): The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will establish a working group to coordinate assistance and support for personnel at Ukrainian nuclear facilities, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday.

Grossi, heading the expert mission to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP), arrived in Ukraine on April 26. “IAEA to set up a working group to coordinate assistance and support staff who are working hard to keep Ukraine nuclear sites safe and secure,” Grossi wrote on Twitter.

He noted that the experts have already brought the first batch of equipment to conduct radiological assessments and restore safeguards monitoring systems. Grossi also honoured the memory of the victims of the incident at the Chernobyl NPP 36 years after the tragedy.

In March, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the plants are operating normally, the radiation background remains normal, which is confirmed by the IAEA.

The Chernobyl power plant was destroyed in a meltdown on April 26, 1986. Nearly 3,000 square miles of territory in northern Ukraine and parts of Belarus were depopulated, with 1,000 square miles considered an exclusion zone due to elevated levels of radiation. The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered the worst nuclear accident in history. (ANI/Sputnik)