MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. Russia expects a more substantial step forward during the next rounds of talks with Ukraine, Spokeswoman for Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.
"In practice, the agreements are often not fulfilled. We urge the Ukrainian side to make every effort to ensure safe [evacuation] of civilians, and we expect that a more significant step forward will be made during the next rounds of negotiations," the Russian diplomat noted.
Zakharova pointed to some progress that was made at the third round of negotiations on March 7. In particular, it referred to humanitarian corridors for evacuating civilians from combat zones. "Roughly 2 mln people applied to Russia with requests for evacuation. About 140,000 civilians have already crossed the Russian [border]," the diplomat said.
"The goal to return Ukraine to the origins of its sovereignty, which is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and proclaimed [the country’s] neutral status and cooperation with Russia, will be fulfilled, as the Russian leadership said. And it would be better achieved through peaceful negotiations. We expect that the Ukrainian authorities stick to the same positions," the spokeswoman stated.
The third round of the Russian-Ukrainian talks, which took place in Belarus on March 7, did not bring the expected results, according to the Moscow and Kiev delegations. Both sides expressed their readiness to resume negotiations, noting positive developments in terms of humanitarian corridors. Russia and Ukraine have not announced the specific dates and venue of the next talks. According to Chairman of the State Duma's Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky, they will likely be held in Belarus in the near future.