Russia Agrees to Involvement of UN in Evacuation from Azovstal

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to the involvement of the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol of Ukraine.

RELATED:

Russia: Africa’s Ambassadors Extend Solidarity on Ukraine Issue

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a tete-a-tete in Moscow with Putin. They discussed the proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians in Mariupol.

Follow-on discussions will be held with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Defense Ministry. Before his talks with Putin, Guterres held a working meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"It is my deep conviction that the sooner we end this war, the better -- for the people of Ukraine, for the people of the Russian Federation, and those far beyond," Guterres said at a press encounter after his meeting with Lavrov.

Guterres proposed the establishment of a Humanitarian Contact Group, bringing together Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations, to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors, with local cessations of hostilities, and to guarantee that they are actually effective.

The UN Secretary will be flying to Rzeszow of Poland, in transit to Ukraine, where he will meet with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. 

The Ukraine conflict is sending shock waves around the world. Increases in the prices for food and energy are affecting hundreds of millions of the most vulnerable people worldwide.