Trio explore ways to end conflict
KYIV/LVIV: The United Nations chief and the presidents of Turkey and Ukraine yesterday discussed ways to end Kyiv’s conflict with Russia and secure Europe’s largest nuclear power station, which has come under shelling.
Speaking to reporters after talks in Ukraine, UN Secretarygeneral Antonio Guterres said he was gravely concerned by the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and called for military equipment and personnel to be withdrawn.
After talks in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said he, Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed building on a recent positive atmosphere to revive peace negotiations with Russia held in Istanbul in March.
In a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey, the two sides recently reached an agreement for Russian to lift a blockade of Ukrainian grain shipments, and exports have started to resume.
Nato member Turkey has maintained good relations with Russia, an important trade partner, and sought to mediate in the sixmonthold conflict.
‘‘Personally, I maintain my belief that the war will ultimately end at the negotiating table. Mr Zelenskiy and Mr Guterres have the same opinion in this regard,’’ Erdogan said.
Meanwhile, 17 people were killed and 42 injured in two separate Russian attacks on the major northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the regional governor said yesterday
Three civilians were killed and 17 wounded in a predawn rocket strike yesterday, the local emergency service said. That followed a Russian attack on Kharkiv on Thursday, in which the emergency service initially said 12 people were killed.
Also yesterday, at least four explosions hit near a major Russian military airport on the Moscowcontrolled Crimean peninsula, three local sources said. Ukraine has hinted it orchestrated other blasts over the past 10 days at other Russian installations in Crimea.
The sources said the blasts were near Russia’s Belbek military airport, north of the Black Sea fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol. Sevastopol governor
Mikhail Razvozhayev said Russian antiaircraft forces downed a Ukrainian drone and no damage occurred.
Guterres reiterated calls for demilitarisation around the nuclear plant.
‘‘The facility must not be used as part of any military operation. Instead, agreement is urgently needed to reestablish Zaporizhzhia’s purely civilian infrastructure and to ensure the safety of the area,’’ he said.
Russia, which captured Zaporizhzhia soon after its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, said it could shut down the facility — a move Kyiv said would increase the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
Moscow had earlier rejected as ‘‘unacceptable’’ international calls for a demilitarised zone around the nuclear plant, which is still operated by Ukrainian engineers under Russian occupation.
The power station sits on the Russiancontrolled south bank of a huge reservoir; Ukrainian forces hold the north bank. There have been several incidents in recent days of shelling at the plant, which both sides blame on each other.
Ukraine also accuses Russia of using the plant as a shield for its forces to launch strikes across the reservoir on Ukrainianheld cities, which Moscow denies.
Zelenskiy said after meeting Guterres yesterday that they had agreed parameters of a possible mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the plant.
‘‘Russia should immediately and unconditionally withdraw its forces from the territory of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as well as stopping any provocations and shelling,’’ he said. — Reuters