Russia, Ukraine may hold 3rd round of talks this weekend

BERLIN (AA) - A third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine may take place this weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a phone call on Friday.

According to a press release by the German chancellor’s office, Scholz and Putin spoke by phone for about an hour and made clear their different point of views on the latest developments.

Scholz expressed his deep concern over Russia’s military action, and called on Putin “to cease all combat operations immediately”, and to allow humanitarian access to the contested areas, his spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.

“President Putin informed the chancellor that a third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine is expected to take place this weekend. Putin and Scholz agreed to hold further talks in the near future,” he added.

Since Russia's war on Ukraine began on Feb. 24, it has been met by outrage from the international community, with the EU, UK, and US implementing a range of economic sanctions on Russia.

According to UN figures, at least 249 civilians have been killed and 553 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war.

More than 1.2 million people have also fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

In the second round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv on Thursday, the two sides agreed on creating humanitarian corridors for evacuation of civilians and for food and medicine deliveries.