As the Ukrainian delegation departed for a second round of talks with Russia on Thursday, hopes are pinned on Russia’s former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky who is leading the negotiations between the two countries. Medinsky is head of the Russian delegation that is meeting the Ukrainian counterparts for the talks on the Belarusian border today.
‘Want to Reach Agreement With Ukraine Quickly’
In a news interview, Medinsky recently said that Russia wants to reach an agreement with Ukraine at the earliest. “We definitely want to reach some kind of agreement as quickly as possible, though it has to be in the interests of both sides,” he was quoted as saying by Russia’s state agency RIA-Novosti.
Ousted During Reshuffle in 2020
Medinsky was Russia’s cultural minister between 2012 and early 2020. During a government reshuffle in 2020, he was ousted and replaced by Olga Lyubimova. According to the Radio Free Europe website, Medinsky “helped lead the charge against art that, in the eyes of conservative activists, touches on so-called ‘gay propaganda’.”
Plagiarism Charges
He had landed in a controversy in 2017 when he was accused of plagiarism and the Russian academic council had threatened to revoke his doctorate. A government agency later cleared him of the charges.
2nd Round of Peace Talks
Earlier Russian news agencies had reported that Russia’s negotiators expect Ukrainian officials to arrive in Belarus to kick off the next round of peace negotiations on Thursday morning. As Russian forces laid siege to major Ukrainian cities on the seventh day of the invasion, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said he could not confirm the delegation’s route for security reasons.
After nearly a week, Russia has yet to achieve its aim of overthrowing Ukraine’s government, but has, according to the Ukrainian emergency service, killed more than 2,000 civilians and destroyed hospitals, kindergartens and homes. Moscow denies targeting civilians and says it aims to disarm Ukraine, a country of over 40 million people, in a “special military operation”.
Ukrainian President Wants Bombing Stopped
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as a first round of negotiations this week had yielded scant progress. Speaking in an interview in a heavily guarded government compound, Zelenskiy urged NATO members to impose a no-fly zone to stop the Russian air force, saying this would be a preventative measure and not meant to drag the alliance into war with Russia.
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