Ukraine and Russia agreed to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians on Thursday, in a second round of talks since Moscow invaded last week, negotiators on both sides said. “The second round of talks is over. Unfortunately, Ukraine does not have the results it needs yet. There are decisions only on the organisation of humanitarian corridors,” Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter. The talks between the Russian and Ukrainian officials took place on […]
Tag: talks
Ukraine demands ‘immediate ceasefire’, Russian withdrawal
KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) – Ukraine demanded an immediate Russian ceasefire and troop withdrawal on Monday as its delegation arrived in Belarus for talks with Russian negotiators on the fifth day of the Kremlin’s offensive. Ukraine’s delegation is set to meet Russian representatives for the first talks since Moscow’s invasion, as the fighting for several Ukrainian cities continues and the Russian ruble collapses. The meeting will take place just across the border in neighbouring Belarus, a […]
Ukraine says to meet Russia for talks at Belarus border
Ukraine on Sunday said it would hold talks with Russia at its border with Belarus — near the Chernobyl exclusion zone — after a phone call between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. “The politicians agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet the Russian one without preconditions at the Ukraine-Belarus border, near the Pripyat River,” Zelensky’s office said in a statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a Russian delegation was currently […]
Kyiv ready for talks, but rejects Moscow’s Belarus proposal
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that he was ready for talks with Russia, but rejected Moscow’s push to stage them in Belarus as it was a launchpad for invading forces. “Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul, Baku. We proposed all of them,” Zelensky said in an address posted online. “And any other city in a country from whose territory missiles do not fly would suit us,” the 44-year-old president said. “That’s the only way talks can be honest. And could […]
West links Afghan humanitarian aid to human rights
by Pierre-Henry DESHAYES and Viken KANTARCI Agence France-Presse OSLO, Norway (AFP) – Western diplomats Tuesday linked humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to an improvement in human rights after meeting a Taliban delegation on a landmark visit to Europe. On the final day of the Taliban’s first official trip to Europe since returning to power in August, the fundamentalists held talks behind closed doors with several Western diplomats. The Taliban are seeking international recognition and financial aid. […]
Taliban, Western officials meet for talks in Oslo
by Pierre-Henry DESHAYES Agence France-Presse OSLO, Norway (AFP) – Taliban and Western diplomats meet in Oslo on Monday for talks on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis and human rights, especially those of women whose freedoms have been curbed by the hardline Islamists. In their first visit to Europe since returning to power in August, the Taliban will meet representatives of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the European Union and Norway. The Taliban delegation is headed […]
North Korea doubts prospects for future summit with US
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — US aggression and an obsession with disarmament mean another summit between Washington and Pyongyang is looking doubtful, North Korea said on Friday, even as it praised US President Donald Trump as “bold” and “wise”. Washington has “done nothing for the implementing the joint statement” from the first US-North Korea summit held in Singapore last year, Kim Kye Gwan, advisor to North Korea’s foreign ministry, wrote in a statement carried in […]
N.Korea praises Trump, hopes for progress towards summit
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Friday praised US President Donald Trump as “different from his predecessors” as well as “wise” and “bold” as Pyongyang angles for a possible new summit between their leaders. According to Kim Kye Gwan, advisor to North Korea’s foreign ministry, the idea of holding a new summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “highly topical these days in the US”, the official wrote in […]
Putin meets Pompeo as US seeks ‘a way forward’ in ties
by Shaun Tandon Agence France Presse SOCHI, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday meets US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the highest-level talks between the rival powers in nearly a year as they see if they can make headway on a raft of disagreements from Venezuela to Iran to arms control. Pompeo will visit Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi less than two weeks after US President Donald […]
US, China trade talks could wrap in four weeks: Trump
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States and China could wrap up trade talks within four weeks after making quick progress on the potentially “epic” deal. “We are getting very close to making a deal,” he said ahead of a White House meeting with Chinese trade envoy Liu He. “Progress is being made at a very rapid pace.” “We will probably know over the next four weeks. It […]
North Korea offers more talks after nuclear no-deal in Hanoi
by Sebastien BERGER Agence France Presse HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — North Korea on Friday promised further negotiations with the US, as both sides sought to hold open the door while staking out their positions after their Hanoi summit spectacularly failed to produce a nuclear deal. The meeting between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump broke up in disarray Thursday, with a signing ceremony canceled and no joint communique issued. Each […]
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin calls US-China talks ‘productive’
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States had “productive” talks with China over their trade dispute, after negotiations in Beijing ended with no indication of any concrete progress. In a tweet, Mnuchin said that he and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had “productive meetings with China’s Vice Premier Liu He.” © Agence France-Presse





