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No agreement yet on participation of UN, ICRC in evacuation from Azovstal — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov also recalled that the Russian President Vladimir Putin had invited UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to see for himself the conditions in which Ukrainian prisoners of war were kept

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. The question about the participation of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross in evacuating civilians who may be trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol will continue to be studied, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.

"It is true that this issue was raised by Mr. [Antonio] Guterres (at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on April 26 - TASS). It will continue to be studied. No concrete agreements were achieved," Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman recalled that Putin had invited Guterres to see for himself the conditions in which Ukrainian prisoners of war were kept.

"Putin suggested looking into the POWs’ conditions, if this is required. This is possible. More contacts are to follow," he said.

On Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said that Russia had agreed to the UN’s and the ICRC’s participation in evacuating civilians from Azovstal. He said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Russia’s Defense Ministry would hold further consultations following Guterres’ meetings in Moscow.