Russia refused to discuss halt to strikes on civilian targets during talks in Riyadh – OP
Russia refused to discuss halting strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure during talks with the US in Riyadh.
Deputy Head of the Office of the President (OP) Ihor Zhovkva said this in an interview with Ukrinform, Censor.NET reports.
He stressed that Ukraine insisted that there should be a ban on shelling of civilian targets - residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, etc.
However, the Russian side in Riyadh told the United States that it allegedly could not discuss ending strikes on civilian infrastructure because it did not have the appropriate mandate.
"Indeed, we talked separately about civilian infrastructure - about residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, and so on. What did Russia do? During the negotiations, as far as we understand from the information provided by the American side, they refused to talk about civilian infrastructure at all, telling the American delegation that they had no mandate to discuss this issue," Zhovkva said.
The Deputy Head of the OP noted that on 25 March, Russia published its own list of energy infrastructure facilities that it claims should be exempt from attacks as part of a ceasefire agreement.
"The American side did not agree to this list, because, just like the so-called statement about a Black Sea truce, it was released only in Russian. There is no such document on the websites of the White House or the U.S. State Department. This is simply a list compiled by the Russians to suit their own preferences," he said.
Russia, on the contrary, has recently intensified its shelling of Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President said.
"You’ve seen all the incidents that have occurred in recent days following air silence Russia claims to be observing. The strikes on Kryvyi Rih and Sumy clearly prove that the Russians have no intention of halting their attacks — at least not on civilians," Zhovkva added.
The day before, in Saudi Arabia, the US delegation agreed with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to "develop a mechanism" to ban attacks on the energy infrastructure of both sides.
