Ukrainian president urges talks to end conflict with Russia

KIEV, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict with Russia, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Wednesday.

"The war must end. We must sit down at the negotiating table," Zelensky was quoted as saying.

The talks should be "honest, objective, in the interests of the people," he said in a video message on Tuesday night.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations have held three rounds of peace talks in Belarus since last week, though the negotiations ended without a significant breakthrough.

On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is set to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Turkey.