UNITED NATIONS, March 22. /TASS/. Elements of diplomatic progress can be seen on several key issues in the situation around Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.

"From my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues," Antonio Guterres said. According to him, "there is enough on the table to cease hostilities - now… and seriously negotiate - now".

The secretary-general expressed confidence that the conflict could be ended only through negotiations. "This war is unwinnable .Sooner or later, it will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table. This is inevitable," he stressed.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country, and to defeat nationalist armed units, which are directly responsible for genocide in Donbass.

The first round of Russian-Ukrainian talks was held in Belarus’ Gomel region on February 28. The talks lasted five hours. The second round of talks was held on March 3 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in Belarus. The delegations met for the third round of talks on March 7, in the Brest region, also in Belarus. The dialogue now continues in the online format.