The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) António Guterres asked the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, to receive him respectively in Moscow and Kiev, said the spokesman for the international entity, Stefan Duzhzharik.
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Corresponding letters were delivered to the permanent representatives of Russia and Ukraine on April 19.
Dujjarik said that Guterres would like to discuss with the two presidents urgent measures to bring peace to Ukraine, as well as the future of multilateral relations.
Separately, Moscow and Kiev reached an agreement to open a humanitarian evacuation corridor from besieged Mariupol, which will seek to remove some 6,000 civilians, mainly women, children, and the elderly, from the southern Ukrainian city.
The agreement comes as the ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender expired on Wednesday with no sign of a capitulation despite the siege by Russian troops.
#UnitedNations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked to meet with the presidents of #Russia and #Ukraine in their respective capitals, a #UN spokesman said Wednesday. https://t.co/GMGFExH8s1
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) April 21, 2022
Faced with this Russian army advance, the Kremlin is calling on Ukraine once again to seek viable options for reaching a bilateral agreement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"If the Kiev regime is committed to its publicly expressed and confirmed desire to negotiate, it should start looking for viable options for reaching an agreement," Zakharova told reporters.
According to the Russian FM spokeswoman, the Ukrainian delegation is trying to delay the consultation process, "refusing to take a constructive approach to priority issues and to respond promptly to Russian proposals."