Russian and Ukrainian officials met for talks Monday amid high hopes but low expectations for any diplomatic breakthrough, after Moscow ran into unexpectedly stiff resistance when it unleashed the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
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Outgunned Ukrainian forces managed slow the Russian advance and Western sanctions began to squeeze the Russian economy, but the Kremlin again raised the specter of nuclear war, reporting that its land, air and sea nuclear forces were on high alert following President Vladimir Putin's weekend order.
Still, a sliver of hope emerged as the first face-to-face talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the war began opened Monday. The delegations met at a long table on the Belarusian border with the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag on one side and the Russian tricolor on the other.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said it would demand an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops.
But while Ukraine sent its defense minister and other top officials, the Russian delegation was led by Putin's adviser on culture – an unlikely envoy for ending the war and perhaps a sign of how seriously Moscow views the talks.
Putin told his French counterpart on Monday that the demilitarization of Ukraine and Western recognition of Russian sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula were prerequisites to ending fighting in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
"Vladimir Putin stressed that a settlement is possible only if Russia's legitimate security interests are unconditionally taken into account, including the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian state and ensuring its neutral status," according to a Kremlin readout of the call.
Senior advisers for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden on Monday also agreed to intensify efforts for talks between Ukraine and Russia to yield a ceasefire, Turkish media reported.
In a call, Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's chief adviser, and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed the invasion and other regional issues, the private Demiroren News Agency (DHA) and others cited a statement as saying.
"It was agreed to intensity joint efforts for peace talks being held between Ukraine and the Russian Federation to yield results and for a ceasefire to be achieved," the statement said, according to DHA.
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The Arab League said in a communique Monday it supported all ongoing efforts to resolve the crisis "through dialogue and diplomacy."
The communique comes after a meeting of representatives of the 22-member Arab League in Cairo.
The communique didn't mention Russia, which has close ties with regional powers like Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
