News Desk :
Russia has agreed “in principle” to UN and International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) involvement in the evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in Ukraine’s southern city of Mariupol following a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Secretary-General António Guterres in Moscow on Tuesday.
During a meeting in Moscow, Putin and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed the situation at the huge Azovstal steel plant, where the last Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol are holed up after months of Russian siege and relentless bombardment.
“Follow-on discussions will be had with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Defence Ministry,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement after the meeting.
The UN chief, who was in the Russian capital for talks on the war in Ukraine, also met with the country’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov.
During his “tete-a-tete” meeting with President Putin, Mr. Guterres reiterated the UN’s position on Ukraine, according to a readout issued by his Spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.
They also discussed proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians from conflict zones, namely in relation to the situation in the besieged port city of Mariupol, where thousands of civilians and Ukrainian troops remain holed up in the Azovstal steel mill, according to UN News.
“The President agreed, in principle, to the involvement of the United Nations and the International Committee for the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol”, said Mr. Dujarric.
He added that follow-on discussions will be held with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, and the Russian Defence Ministry.
‘Frank discussion’
Mr. Guterres told reporters that he had held “a very frank discussion” with Mr. Lavrov “and it is clear that there are two different positions on what is happening in Ukraine.”
Russia has said it is conducting a “special military operation” in Ukraine, while for the UN, the 24 February invasion is a violation of the country’s territorial integrity and goes against the UN Charter.
“But it is my deep conviction that the sooner we end this war, the better – for the people of Ukraine, for the people of the Russian Federation, and those far beyond,” he said.
Underlining his role as a “messenger of peace”, the Secretary-General recalled that the UN has repeatedly appealed for ceasefires to protect civilians, as well as political dialogue towards a solution, which so far has not happened.
Referring to the “violent battle” underway across the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, he noted that many civilians are being killed, and hundreds of thousands are trapped by the conflict, adding that repeated reports of violations, as well as possible war crimes, will require independent investigation for effective accountability.
Humanitarian corridors
“We urgently need humanitarian corridors that are truly safe and effective and that are respected by all to evacuate civilians and deliver much-needed assistance.”
The Secretary-General has proposed establishment of a Humanitarian Contact Group – comprising Russia, Ukraine and the UN – “to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors, with local cessations of hostilities, and to guarantee that they are actually effective. “
Addressing the “crisis within a crisis” in Mariupol, where thousands are in dire need of life-saving assistance, and for many, evacuation, he underlined the UN’s readiness to fully mobilize its human and logistical resources to help save lives.
Mr. Guterres has proposed that the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Ukrainian and Russian forces, coordinate work to both enable the safe evacuation of civilians who want to leave Mariupol – both inside the last redoubt of the Azovstal steel plant, and in the city itself, and in any direction they choose – and to deliver humanitarian aid.
Global shock waves
Turning to the wider impacts of the war, the Secretary-General spoke of some of the “shock waves” being felt across the globe, such as the “dramatic acceleration” in food and energy costs, which particularly are affecting millions of the world’s most vulnerable people.
“This comes on top of the shock of the continued COVID-19 pandemic and uneven access to resources for recovery, that particularly penalize developing countries around the world. So, the sooner peace is established, the better – for the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and for the world,” he said.
“And it’s very important, even in this moment of difficulty, to keep alive the values of multilateralism,” he added.
The Secretary-General underlined the need for a world that is “multipolar”, that abides by the UN Charter and international law, and which recognizes full equality among States, in hopes that humanity will again unite to address common challenges such as climate change “and in which the only war we should have would be a war of those that put the planet at risk.
The Secretary-General will be in Ukraine on Thursday where he will have a working meeting with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and he will be received by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Earlier on Tuesday, Putin told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that there were no military operations under way in Mariupol and that Kyiv should “take responsibility” for the people in the Azovstal steel plant.
Ukraine on Monday appealed for the UN and the ICRC to be involved in the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal. Guterres is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday.
During a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Guterres said he has proposed a “Humanitarian Contact Group” of Russia, Ukraine and UN officials “to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors, with local cessations of hostilities, and to guarantee that they are actually effective”.
Moscow describes its February 24 invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” and has denied targeting civilians. It has blamed Ukraine for the repeated failure of humanitarian corridors.
On April 21, Russia declared victory in Mariupol although remaining Ukrainian forces held out in a vast underground complex below Azovstal.
Russia said on Monday it would open a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the steel plant, but Ukraine said there was no such agreement and that Russia was still attacking it.
Putin says ‘hopeful’ over talks
In televised remarks, Putin told Guterres that he still had hope for negotiations to end the conflict.
“Despite the fact that the military operation is ongoing, we still hope that we will be able to reach agreements on the diplomatic track,” Putin said.
“We are negotiating, we do not reject [talks].”
Putin noted that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators made what he described as a “serious breakthrough” in their talks in Istanbul, Turkey, last month.
He claimed, however, that the Ukrainian side later walked back on some of the tentative agreements reached in Istanbul.
In particular, Putin said Ukrainian negotiators have changed their position on the issue of the status of Crimea and separatist territories in eastern Ukraine, offering to leave it for the countries’ presidents to discuss.
The Russian president charged that the shift in the Ukrainian stand makes it hard to negotiate a future deal.
Putin has demanded that Ukraine recognise Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and recognise the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as part of a future agreement on ending the hostilities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that those issues could only be decided by a future referendum.
Ukraine had proposed an international agreement whereby other countries would guarantee its security. In return, Kyiv would not join NATO or host foreign military bases and become a neutral, non-nuclear state.
