Face-to-face talks begin in Turkey; UN chief calls for humanitarian cease-fire: Live Ukraine updates
Russia’s brutal invasion.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the warring nations had a “historic responsibility” to stop the fighting.
“We believe that there will be no losers in a just peace,” Erdogan said as the talks began in Istanbul. “Prolonging the conflict is not in anyone’s interest.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has launched an initiative to explore “a humanitarian cease-fire in Ukraine,” echoing Ukraine’s urgent pleas. Guterres said he asked Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, the head of the U.N.’s worldwide humanitarian operations, to look into a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian news outlet Suspline News reported Monday that Ukrainian officials were hoping to agree to a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine during in-person negotiations this week in Turkey. The cease-fire would allow for aid delivery to Ukraine and pave the way for political negotiations to end the war, Guterres said.
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Latest developments
►President Joe Biden said Monday he was voicing his ‘moral outrage,’ not a U.S. policy change, with his remark last weekend that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”
►Russian troops have paused ground advances toward the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and appear to have refocused in eastern Ukraine, a senior U.S. Defense official said.
►Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday in muted trading ahead of another round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Crude oil prices fell further after sinking 7% on Monday.
►The Pentagon is sending six Navy jets that specialize in suppressing enemy air defense to bolster NATO’s eastern flank, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Monday.
►Less than five weeks since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 3.8 million refugees have been forced to flee the country, making this the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
Contributing: The Associated Press