Russia offered to negotiate with Ukraine, saying that it had sent a negotiating team to Belarus, but Ukraine rejected the offer because the negotiating place was not neutral.
Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov said a Russian delegation had arrived in Khomel, southeastern Belarus for negotiations with Ukraine and was ready to begin negotiations, according to Reuters.
He added that the negotiating team included government officials such as the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the Kremlin.
In a video statement, Ukrainian President Zelensky refused, saying, "We are willing to negotiate peace with Russia, but Belarus refuses. Belarus was a bridgehead for aggression."
"I made several proposals to Russia, including Warsaw (Poland), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary), Istanbul (Turkey), and Baku (Azerbaijan). Any city in other countries where rockets do not fly is fine." said.
President Zelensky emphasized, "We can trust and end the war only when we hold talks in these cities. Of course, we also want peace. We want to meet, we want the war to end."
Belarus is a country bordering Ukraine, and Russia used these forces to invade Ukraine after stationing troops in Belarus under the pretext of joint training.
Russia had proposed to meet the day before, but "President Putin has ordered the resumption of the halted military advance because Ukraine has refused to negotiate."