Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Russia, Ukraine to hold online negotiations

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Tuesday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Following are the latest developments of the situation:

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are being held daily, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, also the head of the Russian delegation, said on Monday.

"The negotiations with Ukraine are being held every day, seven days a week, in a format of video conferences," Medinsky posted on his Telegram account. Medinsky said video meetings save time and are more efficient.

"We are striving to do everything that is possible to fulfill the tasks set by (Russian President) Vladimir Putin for Russia's peaceful future," he wrote.

The fourth round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine occurred earlier on Monday via video link. According to Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the delegation, a technical pause has been taken in the negotiations until Tuesday.

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Ukraine and Russia took a technical pause in their peace talks, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, also a member of the delegation, said Monday.

"A technical pause has been taken in the negotiations until tomorrow. For additional work in the working subgroups and clarification of individual definitions," Podolyak tweeted.

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Some 150,000 people have been evacuated from conflict zones in Ukraine to safe places through humanitarian corridors so far, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Monday.

People are still exposed to dangers along humanitarian corridors, Vereshchuk said at a news briefing.

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The Ukrainian delegation is seeking a ceasefire and a troop withdrawal during the peace talks with Russia, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, also a member of the delegation, said Monday.

"Our positions remain unchanged: peace, immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of all Russian troops," Podolyak said in a video statement on Twitter.

Ukraine will be ready to talk about any neighborly relations and political settlements with Russia only after the implementation of these positions, Podolyak said.

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday announced the release of 40 million U.S. dollars from the world body's Central Emergency Response Fund to ramp up vital humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.

This funding will help get critical supplies of food, water, medicines, and other lifesaving aid into Ukraine and provide cash assistance to the needy, he said at a press encounter.

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China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun said Monday that "the wanton use of sanctions" will not help solve the conflict in Ukraine but only create new problems.

"The current status in the situation in Ukraine is an outcome of the interplay of complex historical and present factors. To solve complex issues, calm and rational thinking are all the more needed," Zhang said at the UN Security Council briefing by the chairperson-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Escalating sanctions have already seriously affected and will continue to affect global finance, energy, food, transportation, supply chains and other fields, hampering the already fragile world economy amid the pandemic. The diplomat added that the sanctions would negatively impact livelihoods, particularly in developing countries.

"We once again call for greater diplomatic efforts by the international community to de-escalate tensions and immediately bring the Ukrainian issue back to the track of political settlement," Zhang said.